EMBL Seminars

Abstract

Epigenetic components regulate many biological phenomena during development and normal physiology. When dysregulated, epigenetic components can also accompany or drive diseases. One main class of epigenetic components are Polycomb group proteins. Originally, Polycomb proteins were shown to silence gene expression. We found that this function involves the regulation of 3D chromosome folding and we found that Polycomb components can induce the formation of long-distance interactions or chromatin loops that may play instructive roles in gene regulation as well as serve as scaffolding elements that contribute to enhancer-promoter specificity. Perturbation of Polycomb components is involved in human cancer and leads to tumorigenesis in flies. Surprisingly, even upon a transient depletion followed by restoration of the full Polycomb compendium, epithelial cells lose their normal differentiated fate, continue proliferating and establish aggressive tumors, demonstrating that cancer can have a fully epigenetic origin. Similarly, transient perturbation of histone acetylation in mouse ES cells and gastruloids shows that they can record chromatin changes and that this results in cellular memory of the perturbation states. The implication of these data will be discussed.

Abstract

EMBL “Entrepreneurial Minds” is a  quarterly webinar series crafted to ignite entrepreneurial spirit and initiatives among all EMBL staff and fellows. Our speakers share practical insights into entrepreneurship, technology transfer, research commercialisation, and navigating start-up landscapes. Through engaging online webinars, attendees will explore success stories, learn from speaker experiences, and connect with industry experts including entrepreneurs, tech transfer professionals, and EMBL alumni. 

This event is open to all and will be livestreamed from EMBL Rome. Participants from EMBL Rome and other Monterotondo campus institutes are encouraged to attend in-person.

Please note - for our planning, we kindly ask both in-person and online participants to register at: https://embl-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__n6yIi-wR4e0QhhNG8hYzQ 
Please note that the talk will be recorded.

About the speaker
In this seminar we will hear from Ilaria Ferlenghi, Global Scientific Leader and Associate Director at GSK.

Ilaria is an esteemed structural biologist and microscopy leader with over 30 years of expertise in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), AI/ML applications, and structural analysis, including more than 20 years dedicated to vaccine research and development. She was among the pioneers in introducing cryo-EM in the pharmaceutical industry to identify and characterize new vaccine candidates, contributing significantly to its adoption as a transformative tool in vaccine R&D. In this context, she played a key role in the design and development of the BEXSERO vaccine.

As Global Scientific Leader and Associate Director at GSK, she leads scientific vision and strategic direction across therapeutic areas, driving innovation in structural vaccinology. Ilaria developed the GEMINI AI/ML-based platform, which integrates structural biology with artificial intelligence to accelerate the identification of antigens as potential vaccine candidates.

Her career spans leadership roles at GSK and Novartis, with deep specialization in advanced microscopy techniques and vaccine R&D. She holds a PhD in Structural Biology and Biophysics from the University of Heidelberg, followed by postdoctoral research at HHMI (Boston) and CNRS (France). Widely recognized for fostering impactful collaborations between academia and industry, Ilaria continues to drive scientific innovation at the intersection of structural biology, digital technologies, and global health.

She serves as a member of nine scientific advisory boards worldwide, contributing her expertise to advance innovation and translational science in vaccine development and beyond. She is also the co-founder of the WeInspireBio initiative, a global effort dedicated to inspiring and supporting the next generation of scientists.