Congratulations to Valentina Chiusolo for her successful thesis defence
The PHYM Department congratulates Valentina Chiusolo for her successful Doctoral thesis defence on Mon, July 4th,2016. Valentina received her Doctoral degree with High Distinction, and dedicated her superbly delivered defence presentation in memory of her recently departed friend and colleague Valentina Tarallo.
Valentina began her Ph.D. training in the laboratory of Prof. Denis Martinvalet in February 2012. During the course of her training, she worked on characterizing the mechanisms of granzyme import into mitochondria. Granzymes are proteolytic proteins released by immune cells called cytotoxic T lymphocytes when they encounter sick or infected that need to be eliminated, and are paramount for inducing apoptosis in the targeted cells. The importance of mitochondrial ROS production in the ability of granzymes to induce cell death has been shown recently by the Martinvalet group, and Valentina’s work now extends these findings by identifying the specific route through which granzymes enter mitochondria. Valentina’s work has led to a deeper understanding of how cytotoxic T cells kill their targets and may be relevant in the future for understanding how certain pathogens or cancers can evade killing by this critical immune mechanism. Valentina has additionally contributed to work in the Martinvalet lab examining cytotoxic killing mechanisms of an aggressive type of brain tumour called glioblastoma multiform that has resulted in a recent publication.
Valentina plans to continue to pursue her scientific career in Switzerland.
Wishing Valentina the all the best for her bright future!
Posted by: P. Nunes-Hasler
13 Jul 2016