NicolisCVshort 2013 - Corso di Laurea in Biologia

CURRICULUM VITAE
Full name: Silvia Kirsten NICOLIS
Work address: Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca
Dipartimento di Biotecnologie e Bioscienze
piazza della Scienza, 2
20126 Milano, Italy
phone: +39-02-6448 3315/3339
FAX: +39-02-6448 3565
e-mail: [email protected]
Date of birth: 14 July 1961 in Milano, Italy
Nationality: Italian
Qualifications: 1980: High school degree (Maturità scientifica), 60/60
1986: Degree (Laurea) in Biological Sciences, 110/110 cum laude
1992: PhD in Experimental Hematology
Research activity:
2000-present: University of Milano-Bicocca
From 2004: Associate Professor of Genetics
2000-2004: Researcher (Genetics)
Present research interests:
Genetics of neural stem cells and brain development.
Stem cells transcription factors: Role of the Sox-2 transcription factor in mouse CNS
development and maintenance, with special regard to neural stem/precursor cells and their
differentiation into neurons. i) An approach through gene targeting of regionally acting
Sox-2 transcriptional regulatory elements. ii) Generation of conditionally mutant Sox-2
alleles and cell type- and stage-specific Sox-2 gene deletion via Cre recombinases. iii)
identification of functionally relevant Sox2 target genes, and molecular understanding of their
regulation by Sox2. iv) Sox2 function in cancer stem cells. v) Sox2 function in different stem cell
types.
Gene regulation in stem cells: Transcriptional regulatory sequences specifying gene expression
in stem cells of the developing and adult mouse nervous system, and in embryonic stem cells.
1996-1999: University of Varese-Insubria
Researcher (Genetics). Teaching activity (see below) til completion of research laboratories
(1998). Initiation of studies on Sox2 regulation in forebrain stem cells.
1991-1996: National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London
Postdoctoral fellow at the Division of Developmental Biology, supported by fellowships from
EMBO, EEC and European Science Foundation, and a temporary MRC appointment as staff
scientist (grade I).
Research on Sox/HMG transcription factors in mouse development.
1985-1991: University of Milano
Undergraduate and graduate student in the Laboratory of Human Genetics, Department of
Genetics.
Research on gene regulation in hematopoiesis.
Recipient of grants from the European Community (EEC), the Telethon foundation (3 times), the
Italian Ministery for University and Research (4 times), the CaRiPLo Foundation (3 times), the
Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC), the National Research Council (Consiglio
Nazionale delle Ricerche, CNR), Regione Lombardia.
Teaching activity: 1996-present: University courses in Genetics (Molecular genetics, Genetics of
development and differentiation for the Degree in Biological sciences of the Universities of
Varese-Insubria (1996-2000) and Milano-Bicocca (2000-present). Lectures for the Postgraduate
School in Applied genetics and for PhD courses (Doctorate in Translational Medicine – DIMET –
University of Milano-Bicocca). Lecturer for the Summer School Supervisor of PhD students and
graduate students of the Laurea Magistrale (Masters degree). Reponsible for the Erasmus students
exchange program for Biology.
Invited seminars:
Salk Institute, San Diego; Telethon Institute for Genetics and Medicine, Napoli; Istituto
Dermopatico dell’Immacolata, Rome; Università di Roma Tor Vergata; CNR, Pisa; Institut
Jacques Monod, Paris; University College London, London; MRC Clinical Sciences Centre,
London; Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research, Cambridge; MRC Centre for
Regenerative Medicine, Edinburgh; Fondazione Cavalieri-Ottolenghi, Torino; University of
Zurich, Zurich; Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich; 1st Sox genes meeting, Cairns,
Australia, 2005; 2nd Sox genes meeting, Awaji Island, Japan, 2008; 3rd Sox genes meeting,
Grainau-Zugspitze, 2011; 1st Singapore-Italy Joint Symposium on Biomedical Sciences, Singapore
2009; 9th European Meeting on Glial Cells, Paris 2009; 1st Summer School on Neural Stem Cells
in Development and Disease, Levico Terme, 2012.
Recent publications (last 5 years):
(12/5/2013)
Bardot E, Valdes VJ, Zhang J, Perdigoto CN, Nicolis S, Hearn SA, Silva JN and Ezhkova E
Polycomb subunits Ezh1 and Ezh2 regulate the Merkel cell differentiation program in skin stem
cells
EMBO Journal, in press
IF 9.2
Ahlfeld J, Favaro R, Pagella P, Kretzschmar HA, Nicolis S, Schüller U.
Sox2 requirement in Sonic hedgehog-associated medulloblastoma.
Cancer Res. 2013 Apr 17. [Epub ahead of print]
IF 8.2
Campolo F, Gori M, Favaro R, Nicolis S, Pellegrini M, Botti F, Rossi P, Jannini EA, Dolci S.
Essential role of sox2 for the establishment and maintenance of the germ cell line.
Stem Cells. 2013 Apr 3. doi: 10.1002/stem.1392. [Epub ahead of print]
IF 7.8
Ferri A, Favaro R, Beccari L, Bertolini J, Mercurio S, Nieto-Lopez F, Verzeroli C, La Regina F, De
Pietri Tonelli D, Ottolenghi S, Bovolenta P and Nicolis SK
Sox2 is required for embryonic development of the ventral telencephalon through the activation of
the ventral determinants Nkx2.1 and Shh
Development, 140:1250-61, 2013
IF 7
Clavel C, Grisanti L, Zemla R, Rezza A, Barros R, Sennett R, Mazloom A, Chung CY, Cai X, Cai
CL, Pevny L, Nicolis S, Ma’ayan A, Rendl M
Sox2 in the dermal papilla niche controls hair growth by fine-tuning Bmp signaling in
differentiating hair shaft progenitors
Developmental Cell, 23:981-94, 2012
IF 14
Chen YT, Tsai MS, Yang TL, Ku AT, Huang KH, Huang CY, Chou FJ, Fan HH, Hong JB, Yen
ST, Wang WL, Lin CC, Hsu YC, Su KY, Su IC, Jang CW, Behringer RR, Favaro R, Nicolis SK,
Chien CL, Lin SW, Yu IS.
R26R-GR: A Cre-Activable Dual Fluorescent Protein Reporter Mouse.
PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e46171. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0046171. Epub 2012 Sep 25
IF 4.1
Mariani J, Favaro R, Lancini C, Vaccari G, Ferri AL, Bertolini J, Tonoli D, Latorre E, Caccia R,
Ronchi A, Ottolenghi S, Miyagi S, Okuda A, Zappavigna V, Nicolis SK.
Emx2 is a dose-dependent negative regulator of Sox2 telencephalic enhancers.
Nucleic Acids Research, 40:6461-76, 2012
IF 7.8
Ortensi B, Osti D, Pellegatta S, Pisati F, Brescia P, Fornasari L, Levi D, Gaetani P, Colombo P,
Ferri A, Nicolis S, Finocchiaro G, Pelicci G.
Rai is a New Regulator of Neural Progenitor Migration and Glioblastoma Invasion.
Stem Cells. 30:817-32, 2012
IF 7.8
Adameyko I, Lallemend F, Furlan A, Zinin N, Aranda S, Kitambi SS, Blanchart A, Favaro R,
Nicolis S, Lübke M, Müller T, Birchmeier C, Suter U, Zaitoun I, Takahashi Y, Ernfors P.
Sox2 and Mitf cross-regulatory interactions consolidate progenitor and melanocyte lineages in the
cranial neural crest.
Development. 139:397-410, 2012
Citations according to Googlescholar: 10
IF 7.4
Gómez-López S., Wiskow O., Favaro R., Nicolis S.K., Price D.J., Pollard S.M., Smith A.
Sox2 and Pax6 maintain the proliferative and developmental potential of gliogenic neural stem cells
in vitro.
Glia. 59:1588-1599, 2011
Citations according to Googlescholar: 7
IF 5.1
Domyan E, Mishina Y, Nicolis SK, Sun X
Signalling through BMP receptors promotes respiratory identity in the foregut via repression of
SOX2
Development, 138:971-981, 2011
Citations according to Googlescholar: 25
IF 7.4
Wang S .. Chandler-Militello D., Lu G., Roy N.S., Zielke A., Stanwood N., Nicolis S.K.,
Geschwind D., Coppola G., Sim F.J. and Goldman S.A.
Prospective identification, isolation, and profiling of a telomerase expressing subpopulation of
human neural stem and progenitor cells, using Sox2 enhancer-directed FACS
Journal of Neuroscience, 30:14635-48, 2010
Citations according to Googlescholar: 13
IF 7.3
Basu-Roy U., Ambrosetti D., Favaro R., Nicolis S.K., Mansukhani A. and Basilico C.
The transcription factor Sox2 is required for osteoblast self-renewal
Cell Death and Differentiation 17:1345-1353, 2010
Citations according to Googlescholar: 24
IF 9
Favaro R., Valotta M., Ferri A., Latorre E., Mariani J., Giachino C., Lancini C., Tosetti V.,
Ottolenghi S., Taylor V. and Nicolis, S.K.
Hippocampal development and neural stem cell maintenance require Sox2-dependent regulation of
Shh
Nature Neuroscience, 12: 1248-1256, 2009
Citations according to Googlescholar: 135
IF 14.4
Pevny L.H. and Nicolis S.K.
Sox2 roles in neural stem cells (Review)
The International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, 42:421-424, 2009
Citations according to Googlescholar: 83
IF 5
Cavallaro M., Mariani J., Lancini C., Latorre E., Caccia R., Gullo F., Valotta M., Favaro R.,
Wanke E., Ottolenghi S. and Nicolis S.K.
Impaired generation of mature neurons by neural stem cells from Sox2 hypomorphic mutants.
Development, 135: 541-557, 2008
Citations according to Googlescholar: 60
IF 7.4