Michele De Palma

Michele 'Miki' De Palma (born 1973, Italy) is an Italian biologist and a professor at EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne). He is known for his work on the role of macrophages in cancer progression and the discovery of Tie2-expressing angiogenic monocytes.[1]

Michele De Palma
Michele De Palma in 2011
Born1973 (age 49–50)
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Turin
Academic advisorsLuigi Naldini
Academic work
DisciplineOncology
Sub-disciplineTumor immunology, Angiogenesis
InstitutionsÉcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Main interestsTumor microenvironment, Exosomes, microRNAs, Cancer immunotherapy
Websitehttps://www.epfl.ch/labs/depalma-lab/

Career

De Palma obtained a master's degree in biology from the University of Turin in 1999 after defending his thesis on the cytostatic effects of type-I interferons on cancer cells. He then obtained a PhD in 2004 in the laboratory of Luigi Naldini, where he studied the effet of bone marrow-derived cells on tumor angiogenesis, and performed post-doctoral work at the Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy in Milan, further dissecting the role of macrophages and their potential use as a target for gene therapy in the treatment of cancer.[2]

De Palma was appointed group leader at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in 2008. In 2012, he was named tenure-track assistant Professor at EPFL, where he was promoted to associate Professor in 2018.[3]

Research

De Palma heads the Angiogenesis and Tumor Microenvironment group at EPFL. His research focuses on the influence of the tumor microenvironment on cancer progression.[4] De Palma and colleagues use genetic models of cancer as well as genetically-engineered cells to decipher the complex interactions occurring between tumor cells, blood vessels, immune cells and exosomes in the tumor microenvironment.

De Palma is known for having discovered a subpopulation of Tie2-positive monocytes endowed with angiogenic capabilities, and which elicit tumor progression.[5] He later showed that inhibition of the Tie2-ligand Angiopoietin 2 induces tumor regression and inhibits metastasis by preventing angiogenesis.[6] He also identified expression of Angiopoietin 2 as an adaptive resistance mechanism upon anti-angiogenic treatment by VEGF inhibitors in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer.[7]

The laboratory of De Palma explores novel therapeutic strategies to overcome resistance to cancer immunotherapies. De Palma and colleagues notably showed that dual inhibition of Tie2 and VEGF-A promotes anti-tumor immunity and potentiates treatment by immune checkpoint inhibitors.[8][9] They also identified microRNAs as potential targets to reprogram tumor-associated macrophages and to promote their anti-tumoral immune functions.[10][11]

De Palma and colleagues also explore the role of extracellular vesicles in cancer progression and resistance to therapy. In 2019, they showed that chemotherapy stimulates the release of tumor-derivered pro-metastatic exosomes.[12][13][14] De Palma's group also developed a new generation of cancer vaccine based on dendritic cells engineered with a chimeric receptor called EVIR, designed to internalize tumor-derived exosomes and associated cancer antigens, thus stimulating anti-tumor immunity.[15]

De Palma has also published multiple studies on the taxonomy of scarabaeidae, including the description of several new species.[16][17]

Distinctions

In 2013, De Palma was awarded with the Leenaards Scientific Prize for his research on anti-angiogenic therapies and cancer immunotherapy.[18] He also received the 2017 Robert Wenner Prize awarded by the Swiss Cancer League.[19][20]

De Palma received a starting grant in 2009 and a consolidator grant in 2016 from the European Research Council.[21]

De Palma serves on the scientific advisory and editorial board of several peer-reviewed scientific journals, such as Science Translational Medicine,[22] Cell Reports,[23] BBA Reviews on Cancer[24] and Cancer Immunology Research.[25]

References
  1. "Michele De Palma". people.epfl.ch. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  2. "Michele De Palma | VIB Conferences". www.vibconferences.be. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  3. "15 new professors appointed at the two Federal Institutes of Technology". www.seco.admin.ch. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  4. "Research Activities". www.epfl.ch. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  5. De Palma, Michele; Venneri, Mary Anna; Galli, Rossella; Sergi, Lucia Sergi; Politi, Letterio S.; Sampaolesi, Maurilio; Naldini, Luigi (2005-09-01). "Tie2 identifies a hematopoietic lineage of proangiogenic monocytes required for tumor vessel formation and a mesenchymal population of pericyte progenitors". Cancer Cell. 8 (3): 211–226. doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2005.08.002. ISSN 1535-6108. PMID 16169466.
  6. Mazzieri, Roberta; Pucci, Ferdinando; Moi, Davide; Zonari, Erika; Ranghetti, Anna; Berti, Alvise; Politi, Letterio S.; Gentner, Bernhard; Brown, Jeffrey L.; Naldini, Luigi; De Palma, Michele (2011-04-12). "Targeting the ANG2/TIE2 Axis Inhibits Tumor Growth and Metastasis by Impairing Angiogenesis and Disabling Rebounds of Proangiogenic Myeloid Cells". Cancer Cell. 19 (4): 512–526. doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2011.02.005. ISSN 1535-6108. PMID 21481792.
  7. Rigamonti, Nicolò; Kadioglu, Ece; Keklikoglou, Ioanna; Wyser Rmili, Céline; Leow, Ching Ching; De Palma, Michele (2014-08-07). "Role of Angiopoietin-2 in Adaptive Tumor Resistance to VEGF Signaling Blockade". Cell Reports. 8 (3): 696–706. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2014.06.059. ISSN 2211-1247. PMID 25088418.
  8. Schmittnaegel, Martina; Rigamonti, Nicolò; Kadioglu, Ece; Cassará, Antonino; Rmili, Céline Wyser; Kiialainen, Anna; Kienast, Yvonne; Mueller, Hans-Joachim; Ooi, Chia-Huey; Laoui, Damya; Palma, Michele De (2017-04-12). "Dual angiopoietin-2 and VEGFA inhibition elicits antitumor immunity that is enhanced by PD-1 checkpoint blockade". Science Translational Medicine. 9 (385): eaak9670. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aak9670. ISSN 1946-6234. PMID 28404865. S2CID 8114974.
  9. "Targeting blood vessels to improve cancer immunotherapy". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  10. Squadrito, Mario Leonardo; Pucci, Ferdinando; Magri, Laura; Moi, Davide; Gilfillan, Gregor D.; Ranghetti, Anna; Casazza, Andrea; Mazzone, Massimiliano; Lyle, Robert; Naldini, Luigi; De Palma, Michele (2012-02-23). "miR-511-3p Modulates Genetic Programs of Tumor-Associated Macrophages". Cell Reports. 1 (2): 141–154. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2011.12.005. ISSN 2211-1247. PMID 22832163.
  11. Baer, Caroline; Squadrito, Mario Leonardo; Laoui, Damya; Thompson, Danielle; Hansen, Sarah K.; Kiialainen, Anna; Hoves, Sabine; Ries, Carola H.; Ooi, Chia-Huey; De Palma, Michele (July 2016). "Suppression of microRNA activity amplifies IFN-γ-induced macrophage activation and promotes anti-tumour immunity". Nature Cell Biology. 18 (7): 790–802. doi:10.1038/ncb3371. ISSN 1476-4679. PMID 27295554. S2CID 20788521.
  12. Keklikoglou, Ioanna; Cianciaruso, Chiara; Güç, Esra; Squadrito, Mario Leonardo; Spring, Laura M.; Tazzyman, Simon; Lambein, Lore; Poissonnier, Amanda; Ferraro, Gino B.; Baer, Caroline; Cassará, Antonino (February 2019). "Chemotherapy elicits pro-metastatic extracellular vesicles in breast cancer models". Nature Cell Biology. 21 (2): 190–202. doi:10.1038/s41556-018-0256-3. ISSN 1476-4679. PMC 6525097. PMID 30598531.
  13. "Exosomes Linked to Cancer Spread from Chemoresistant Tumors in Mice". The Scientist Magazine®. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  14. "Tumors backfire on chemotherapy". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  15. Squadrito, Mario Leonardo; Cianciaruso, Chiara; Hansen, Sarah K.; De Palma, Michele (March 2018). "EVIR: chimeric receptors that enhance dendritic cell cross-dressing with tumor antigens". Nature Methods. 15 (3): 183–186. doi:10.1038/nmeth.4579. ISSN 1548-7105. PMC 5833950. PMID 29355847.
  16. De Palma, Michele; Takano, Hitoshi; Léonard, Philippe; Bouyer, Thierry (2020). "Barcoding analysis and taxonomic revision of Goliathus Lamarck, 1802 (Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae)" (PDF). Entemologia Africana. 25 (1): 11–32.
  17. "Data scaraebaeoidea Bibliography". Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  18. "Cibler l'angiogenèse et les réseaux immunosuppresseurs pour améliorer le traitement des cancers du sein et de l'ovaire". Fondation Leenaards - Favoriser la dynamique créatrice (in French). Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  19. "Lauréats du Prix Robert Wenner depuis 1983" (PDF) (in French).
  20. Papageorgiou, Nik (30 November 2017). "Michele De Palma wins 2017 Swiss Cancer League prize". epfl.ch. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  21. "ERC FUNDED PROJECTS". ERC: European Research Council. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  22. "Editorial staff and scientific advisory boards | Science Translational Medicine". stm.sciencemag.org. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  23. "Cell Press: Cell Reports". www.cell.com. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  24. "Editorial board - Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Reviews on Cancer | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier". www.sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  25. "Editorial Board | Cancer Immunology Research". cancerimmunolres.aacrjournals.org. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
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