Enrico Lucarelli

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT ENRICO LUCARELLI

I graduated in Biology at the University of Bologna in 1988 where I developed an interest in oncology. I worked as a research fellow in the Pediatric Oncology Laboratory at Gaslini Hospital in Genova, Italy from 1990 to 1992. My research was focused on the identification of new molecular targets for therapeutic approaches for Neuroblastoma. From 1992 to 1997 I moved to the United States where I worked as post-doctoral visiting fellow in the Cellular and Molecular Biology section of the Pediatric Branch of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. The focus of my research was on the identification of the role of the activation of Trk receptors in Neuroblastoma cells. In 1997 I joined the Laboratory of Oncology of the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute where I investigated new therapeutic approaches for osteosarcoma. From my interests were not limited to the treatment of tumors, but also for the development of innovative therapeutic approaches for the reconstruction of bone tissue in osteosarcoma patients after the resection of the tumor. In order to develop new tissue engineering approaches to bone reconstruction in I founded the Bone Regeneration Laboratory with professor Davide Maria Donati and a staff of medical doctors, biologists, biotechnologists and engineers. This laboratory has developed several cell-based therapeutic products for the reconstruction of the bone that have been tested in preclinical and clinical trials. Recently, I took advantage of my experience in oncology and tissue engineering to develop an in vitro and ex vivo 3D model of osteosarcoma. These models are applied to investigate the efficacy of innovative therapeutic agents, such as nanoparticles and photo dynamic therapy. In November 2017, I was appointed Assistant Affiliate Member of the Houston Methodist Research Institute thanks to a collaboration with the Department of Nanomedicine.