Biologist

Professional technical collaborator - Project Manager

Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences, Department of Sciences, Roma Tre University (Rome, Italy). Thesis research project “Plant alkaloid Voacamine: a natural chemosensitizer for the drug resistant human ovarian cancer cells”

Training course for Project Manager according to ISO and UNI 11648 standards achieved at A-Sapiens-Edupuntozero Srl and the MEMOTEF Department of Sapienza University of Rome.

• May 2023 to present: Project Manager, at the Laboratory of Experimental Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli (Bologna, Italy)
• December 2020 to April 2023: Fellowship at the Laboratory of Experimental Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli (Bologna, Italy). Research activity: “Accelerating Biomarkers and targeted therapy development in metastatic Ewing Sarcomas: Focus on cell plasticity”
• January 2020-March 2020 and October 2020-November 2020: Internship at the Laboratory of Experimental Oncology, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute (Bologna, Italy)
• January 2018-September 2019: Internship at the National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, National Institute of Health (Rome, Italy)
• November 2012 – December 2017: Undergraduate student at the Department of Technology and Health, National Institute of Health (Rome, Italy).

• Italian: mother tongue
• English: B2
• French: basic
• Spanish: basic

Informatics tools: Excel, Word, Power Point, Open Office, EndNote.

Manage of human and murine model cell lines, 3D cell model (spheroids, bioprinting). Transfection techniques, soft-Agar, Motility Test, Homotypic aggregation, Wound healing assay, MTT assay, Live/Death fluorescent tests, Immunohistochemistry, Immunofluorescence on fixed and non-fixed cells, RNA extraction and quantification, proteins extraction, Western Blotting, flow cytometric analysis (FACS). Preparation and observation of samples for scanning electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy.
Use of data banks.

• 2014 to present: Member of Associazione Italiana Colture Cellulari
• 2023 to present: Member of Italian Sarcoma Group
• Participant and organizer of many national and international congresses
• Award: Best young researcher poster for the study “Modulation of osteosarcoma and melanoma cells drug-resistance by not immunotoxic natural compound”, received during the 27th Annual congress of the Italian Association of Cell Cultures (AICC), Verona, November 12-14, 2014.

Pubblications:

• E. Pellegrini, G. Desando, M. Petretta, A.  Cellamare, C. Cristalli, M. Pasello, M. C. Manara, B. Grigolo, K. Scotlandi. A 3D Collagen-Based Bioprinted Model to Study Osteosarcoma Invasiveness and Drug Response. Polymers (Basel). 2022 Sep 28;14(19):4070. doi: 10.3390/polym14194070. PMID: 36236019
• Cristalli C, Manara MC, Valente S, Pellegrini E, Bavelloni A, De Feo A, Blalock W, Di Bello E, Piñeyro D, Merkel A, Esteller M, Tirado OM, Mai A, Scotlandi K. Novel Targeting of DNA Methyltransferase Activity Inhibits Ewing Sarcoma Cell Proliferation and Enhances Tumor Cell Sensitivity to DNA Damaging Drugs by Activating the DNA Damage Response. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022 May 31;13:876602. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.876602. eCollection 2022. PMID: 35712255
• De Feo A, Pazzaglia L, Ciuffarin L, Mangiagli F, Pasello M, Simonetti E, Pellegrini E, Ferrari C, Bianchi G, Spazzoli B, Scotlandi K. miR-214-3p Is Commonly Downregulated by EWS-FLI1 and by CD99 and Its Restoration Limits Ewing Sarcoma Aggressiveness.Cancers (Basel). 2022 Mar 30;14(7):1762. doi: 10.3390/cancers14071762. PMID: 35406534
• Pellegrini E, Multari G, Gallo FR, Vecchiotti D, Zazzeroni F, Condello M, Meschini S. A natural product, voacamine, sensitizes paclitaxel-resistant human ovarian cancer cells. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol.2022 Jan 1;434:115816. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2021.115816. Epub     2021 Nov 29. PMID: 34856211.
• Scotlandi K, Hattinger CM, Pellegrini E, Gambarotti M, Serra M. Genomics and Therapeutic Vulnerabilities of Primary Bone Tumors. Cells. 2020 Apr 14;9(4):968. doi: 10.3390/cells9040968. 
• M. Condello, E. Pellegrini, G. Multari, F. Romana Gallo, S. Meschini. Voacamine: Alkaloid with its essential dimeric units to reverse tumor multidrug resistance. Toxicol In Vitro 2020 Jun; 65:104819. doi: 10.1016/j.tiv.2020.104819. Epub 2020 Mar 2.
• M. Condello, E. Pellegrini, E. Spugnini, A. Baldi, B. Amadio, B. Vincenzi, G. Occhionero,  S. Delfine , F. Mastrodonato , S. Meschini. Anticancer activity of "Trigno M", extract of Prunus spinosa drupes, against in vitro 3D and in vivo colon cancer models. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy 2019 Aug 1; 118:109281. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2019.10928
• Meschini S, Donadelli M, Condello M, De Smaele E, Di Martino MT, Pellegrini E, Riganti C, Scotlandi K, Zazzeroni F, Caraglia M. Therapeutic Nanoproducts: from biology to innovative technology. Eur J Histochem. 2019 Vol 63, No 1s. doi.org/10.4081/ejh.2019.305
• C.A. Maestri, N. Ferrari, S. Meschini, E. Pellegrini, M. Condello, M. Scarpa. Nanocellulose and its composites in biomedical devices. Proceedings of AICC Conference “Therapeutic nanoproducts: from biology to innovative technology”, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, 19-20 Jule 2019: Eur J Hystochem, 63, 1, p.7, 2019
• S. Meschini  , E. Pellegrini , CA Maestri , M. Condello , P. Bettotti ,G. Condello G., M. Scarpa. In vitro toxicity assessment of hydrogel patches obtained by cation-   induced cross- linking of rod-like cellulose nanocrystals.  J Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater. 2019 May 27. doi: 10.1002/jbm.b.34423
• M. Condello, E. Pellegrini, S. Meschini, M. Caraglia. Targeting autophagy to overcome human diseases. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Feb 8;20(3):725. doi: 10.3390/ijms20030725
• S. Meschini, E. Pellegrini, M. Condello, G. Occhionero, S. Delfine, G. Condello, F. Mastrodonato. Cytotoxic and Apoptotic Activities of Prunus spinosa Trigno ecotype Extract on Human Cancer Cells. Molecules 22: 2017 Sep 20
• Pellegrini E., Condello M., Giansanti L., Petaccia M., Mancini G., Meschini S.: “New 5-fluorouracil amphiphilic derivatives in liposome formulation to overcome drug resistance in colon cancer. Proceedings of 29th Annual Conference of AICC, 23-25 November 2016, L’Aquila. Translational Medicine Reports
• M. Petaccia, M. Condello, L. Giansanti, A. La Bella, F. Leonelli, S. Meschini, D. Gradella Villalva, E. Pellegrini, F. Ceccacci, G. Mancini.  Inclusion of new 5-fluorouracil derivates in liposome formulation for cancer treatment. Med Chem Comm 2015, DOI: 10.1039/C5MD00077G.

3D models, Bone tumors, characterization of PDX models, Drug resistance