Cantore Alessio Ricercatore a tempo determinato juniorMedicineBIO/17 Istologia

Alessio Cantore has received a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology in 2013 by the Open University, London, and “Vita-Salute San Raffaele” University under the supervision of Prof. Luigi Naldini, Prof. Thierry VandenDriessche (Free University of Brussels) and Prof. Maria Grazia Roncarolo. He has made important contributions to the field of liver-directed gene therapy by evaluating the efficacy and safety of systemic lentiviral vector administration in different experimental models and engineering vectors with enhanced biological properties, reduced immunogenicity and high potency. He leads a young and dynamic group that focuses on the biotechnological aspects and translational applications of liver-directed gene transfer and editing. The team investigate lentiviral vector (LV)-mediated liver gene transfer and its stability following post-natal liver growth, homeostatic turnover, tissue damage and evaluate different gene therapy strategies in preclinical models of hemophilia and liver metabolic diseases, with the ultimate goal of devising advanced gene therapy products as novel treatments for affected patients. He has published 17 original research articles and 4 review articles on peer-reviewed international scientific journals (h-index: 13) and is inventor of 10 patents. He has been invited to speak at several international conferences and is recipient of various awards, including the 2018 Young Investigator Award, from the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, a 2019 Excellence in Research Award from the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy. Since 2017 he serves as Assistant Professor of Histology at “Vita-Salute San Raffaele” University and since 2020 is Group Leader at the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget). He is also scientific co-founder of GeneSpire, an innovative Start-up company aimed to develop liver-directed gene therapy for inherited liver diseases. 

EDUCATION/TRAINING

University of Bologna, IT - B.Sc.(Summa cum Laude) - 2004 - Biotechnology

“Vita Salute San Raffaele” University, Milan, IT - M.Sc.(Summa cum Laude)  - 2006 - Medical Biotechnology

“Vita Salute San Raffaele” University, Milan, IT – Open University, London, UK - Ph.D.2008-2012- Cellular and Molecular Biology

San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (Luigi Naldini’s laboratory), Milan, IT - Post-doctoral Training - 2013-2015 - Lentiviral Vectors and Gene Therapy

EMPLOYMENT AND EXPERIENCE

2004                            Bachelor Student at Prof. Gianpaolo Bagnara’s laboratory, University of Bologna, Department of Histology, Embryology and Applied Cellular Biology.

2005-06                      Master Student at Prof. Luigi Naldini’s laboratory, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy.

2007                            Research Fellow at Prof. Luigi Naldini’s laboratory, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy.

2008-12                     PhD Student in Cellular and Molecular Biology at “Vita-Salute San Raffaele” University, Milan, Italy, and Open University, London, UK. Host laboratory: Prof. Luigi Naldini’s laboratory, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy.

2013-15                      Post-doctoral Fellow at Prof. Luigi Naldini’s laboratory, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy.

2016-6/2020             Project Leader at the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy.

2017-11/2022           Assistant Professor of Histology, “Vita Salute San Raffaele” University.

Since 7/2020            Group Leader at the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy

Since 11/2022          Tenure track Assistant Professor of Histology, “Vita Salute San Raffaele” University.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Scientific Memberships and Appointments

-     Member of: American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT), European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), International Society of Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT), International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR).

-     Co-founder and consultant of GeneSpire, an innovative Start-up company aimed to develop liver-directed gene therapy for genetic diseases.

Teaching

-     Teacher of the “Histology” course for students in the medical degree at “Vita-Salute San Raffaele” University, Milan, Italy – since 2011.

-     Contributing lectures for “Cell and Gene Therapy” course for students in the biotechnology degree at “Vita-Salute San Raffaele” University, Milan, Italy – since 2009.

Mentoring

-     Currently mentoring 2 Ph.D. students (International Graduate School in Molecular Medicine, “Vita Salute San Raffaele” University) and 1 Master student (Medical Biotechnology, “Vita Salute San Raffaele” University)

-     Mentored 5 Master students (4 Medical Biotechnology, “Vita Salute San Raffaele” University; 1 Biotechnology, University of Trieste) and 1 Ph.D. student (International Graduate School in Molecular Medicine, “Vita Salute San Raffaele” University) to successful completion.

Reviewer

-     Scientific reviewer in 2 patent review sessions at Telethon Foundation.

-     Reviewer of manuscripts submitted to Nature Communications, Human Gene Therapy, Haematologica, Viruses, Scientific Reports.

-     Abstract reviewer for ASGCT, ESGCT, ISCT, ISSCR

-     Grant reviewer for Swiss National Fund

Invited Speaker

-     Molecular diagnosis and therapy in bleeding disorders – Ferrara – October 2022

-     ESGCT 2021 Virtual conference – October 2021

-     European Society of Human Genetics 2021 Conference – August 2021 virtual

-     2nd Webinar ATMP Forum: “The gene therapy revolution” – September 2020 virtual

-     US National Hemophilia Foundation 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th Workshop on Novel Technologies and Gene Transfer for Hemophilia – October 2014, October 2016, February 2018, September 2019, November 2021

-     World Federation of Hemophilia World Congress – May 2018

-     Winter School on Biotechnology, University of Perugia – January 2017

Outreach and dissemination

-     Participated to several editions of the Telethon Marathon, the main Telethon Foundation fundraising campaign streamlined in the major Italian TV channels

-     Contributed interviews for popular science Italian TV shows

Other activities

-     Member of the Organizing Committee of SR-Tiget Institutional Retreat 2019, 2022

-     Member of the Organizing Committee of ISCT regional meeting – Florence 12-14th September 2018

-     Member of the PhD Students Invited Lecture Committee (2009-2011)

-     Contributor for BiotechBook, a popular science website for high-school students (2008).

HONORS and AWARDS

Grants:

- European Leukodystrophy Association (2023-2024, Principal Investigator)

- Vaincre les maladies lysosomales (2023, Principal Investigator)

- Telethon Core Grant (2022-2024, Principal Investigator)

- GeneSpire Sponsored Research Agreement (2020-active, Principal Investigator)

- H2020 Consortium 825825 UPGRADE (2019-2023, collaborator)

- Italian Ministry of Health “Giovani Ricercatori” 2019 (co- Principal Investigator)

- Sanofi Sponsored Research Agreement (2016-2021, co- Principal Investigator)

Recipient of:

- Young Investigator Award from the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy in 2018

- Excellence in Research Award from the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy in 2019

- Giuseppe Bigi Memorial Abstract Achievement Award from the American Society of Hematology in 2017

- 7 Meritorious Travel Grant Awards from the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, from the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy in 2016 and from the European Hematology Association in 2014

- Best Translational Paper Award from the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in 2015

(Update january 2023)

Since 2007, I have published 17 original research articles and 4 reviews in peer-reviewed international scientific journals. Collectively my publications have been cited 1665 times (as of November 2022). Scopus “h” index: 13.

Original Research Articles

Milani M, Canepari C, Liu T, Biffi M, Russo F, Plati T, Curto R, Patarroyo-White S, Drager D, Visigalli I, Brombin C, Albertini P, Follenzi A, Ayuso E, Mueller C, Annoni A, Naldini L*, Cantore A*. Liver-directed lentiviral gene therapy corrects hemophilia A mice and achieves normal-range factor VIII activity in non-human primates. Nat Commun. 2022, in press. *Co-last, co-corresponding authors.

Cesana D, Calabria A, Rudilosso L, Gallina P, Benedicenti F, Spinozzi G, Schiroli G, Magnani A, Acquati S, Fumagalli F, Calbi V, Witzel M, Bushman FD, Cantore A, Genovese P, Klein C, Fischer A, Cavazzana M, Six E, Aiuti A, Naldini L, Montini E. Retrieval of vector integration sites from cell-free DNA. Nat Med. 2021 Jun 17. Online ahead of print. PMID: 34140705

Vonada A, Tiyaboonchai A, Nygaard S, Posey J, Peters AM, Winn SR, Cantore A, Naldini L, Harding CO, Grompe M. Therapeutic liver repopulation by transient acetaminophen selection of gene-modified hepatocytes. Sci Transl Med. 2021 Jun 9;13(597):eabg3047. PMID: 34108249

Bénéchet AP, De Simone G, Di Lucia P, Cilenti F, Barbiera G, Le Bert N, Fumagalli V, Lusito E, Moalli F, Bianchessi V, Andreata F, Zordan P, Bono E, Giustini L, Bonilla WV, Bleriot C, Kunasegaran K, Gonzalez-Aseguinolaza G, Pinschewer DD, Kennedy PTF, Naldini L, Kuka M, Ginhoux F, Cantore A, Bertoletti A, Ostuni R, Guidotti LG, Iannacone M. Dynamics and genomic landscape of CD8+ T cells undergoing hepatic priming. Nature. 2019 Oct 2. PMID: 31582858

Milani M, Annoni A, Moalli F, Liu T, Cesana D, Calabria A, Bartolaccini S, Biffi M, Russo F, Visigalli I, Raimondi A, Patarroyo-White S, Drager D, Cristofori P, Ayuso E, Montini E, Peters R, Iannacone M, Cantore A*, Naldini L*. Phagocytosis-Shielded Lentiviral Vectors Improve Liver Gene Therapy in Non Human Primates. Sci Transl Med. 2019 May 22;11(493). pii: eaav7325. *Co-last, co-corresponding authors. PMID: 31118293

Featured in: https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-019-00271-9;

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41684-019-0367-x

Milani M, Annoni A, Bartolaccini S, Biffi M, Russo F, Di Tomaso T, Raimondi A, Lengler J, Holmes MC, Scheiflinger F, Lombardo A, Cantore A*, Naldini L*. Genome editing for scalable production of alloantigen-free lentiviral vectors for in vivo gene therapy. EMBO Mol Med, 2017 Aug 23. *Co-last authors. PMID: 28835507

Cantore A*, Ranzani M*, Bartholomae C, Volpin M, Della Valle P, Sanvito F, Sergi Sergi L, Gallina P, Benedicenti F, Bellinger D, Raymer R, Merricks E, Bellintani F, Martin S, Doglioni C, D’Angelo A, VandenDriessche T. Chuah M, Schmidt M, Nichols T, Montini E, Naldini L. Liver-directed lentiviral gene therapy in a dog model of hemophilia B. Sci Transl Med, 2015 Mar 4;7(277):277ra28. *Equal contribution. PMID: 25739762

Annoni A*, Cantore A*, Della Valle P, Goudy K, Akbarpour M, Russo F, Bartolaccini S, D'Angelo A, Roncarolo MG, Naldini L. Liver gene therapy by lentiviral vectors reverses anti-factor IX pre-existing immunity in haemophilic mice. EMBO Mol Med. 2013 Nov;5(11):1684-97. *Equal contribution. PMID: 24106222

Cantore A*, Nair N*, Della Valle P, Di Matteo M, Màtrai J, Sanvito F, Brombin C, Di Serio C, D'Angelo A, Chuah M, Naldini L, Vandendriessche T. Hyperfunctional coagulation factor IX improves the efficacy of gene therapy in hemophilic mice. Blood. 2012 Nov 29;120(23):4517-20. *Equal contribution. PMID: 23043073

Commentary: https://ashpublications.org/blood/article/120/23/4452/30874/Factor-IX-Padua-them-that-have-give

Lombardo A, Cesana D, Genovese P, Di Stefano B, Provasi E, Colombo DF, Neri M, Magnani Z, Cantore A, Lo Riso P, Damo M, Pello OM, Holmes MC, Gregory PD, Gritti A, Broccoli V, Bonini C, Naldini L. Site-specific integration and tailoring of cassette design for sustainable gene transfer. Nat Methods. 2011 Aug 21;8(10):861-9. PMID: 21857672

Mátrai J*, Cantore A*, Bartholomae CC*, Annoni A*, Wang W, Acosta-Sanchez A, Samara-Kuko E, De Waele L, Ma L, Genovese P, Damo M, Arens A, Goudy K, Nichols TC, von Kalle C, L Chuah MK, Roncarolo MG, Schmidt M, Vandendriessche T, Naldini L. Hepatocyte-targeted expression by integrase-defective lentiviral vectors induces antigen-specific tolerance in mice with low genotoxic risk. Hepatology. 2011 May;53(5):1696-707. *Equal contribution. PMID: 21520180

 

Brown BD*, Gentner B*, Cantore A, Colleoni S, Amendola M, Zingale A, Baccarini A, Lazzari G, Galli C, Naldini L.  Endogenous microRNAs can be broadly exploited to regulate transgene expression according to tissue, lineage, and differentiation state. Nature Biotechnol. 2007 Dec 25;(12):1457-67. *Equal contribution. PMID: 18026085

 

Brown BD, Cantore A, Annoni A, Sergi Sergi L, Lombardo A, Della Valle P, D'Angelo A, Naldini L. A microRNA-regulated lentiviral vector mediates stable correction of hemophilia B mice. Blood. 2007 Dec 15;110(13):4144-52. PMID: 17726165

Review Articles

Cantore A, Fraldi A, Meneghini V, Gritti A. In vivo Gene Therapy to the Liver and Nervous System: Promises and Challenges. Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Jan 18;8:774618. PMID: 35118085

Cantore A, Naldini L. WFH State-of-the-art paper 2020: In vivo lentiviral vector gene therapy for haemophilia. Haemophilia. 2020 Jun 14. PMID: 32537776

(Update january 2023)