Structural Biology

Biography

Federica Cossu has always been interested in the field of cancer research, being fascinated by structural studies of crucial macromolecules and protein complexes involved in the cellular processes of cell death/survival. She gathered experience in cloning, expression, purification and crystallization of recombinant proteins, mainly belonging to the field of cancer. During the last years, she focused on the structure-based design of small molecules to be developed as drug candidates directed to pre-clinical studies. The success of this activity is proven by one patent, one award for her PhD thesis and several publications in the field. She progressively improved her knowledge on biophysical techniques for the study of proteins and on the in silico analysis of protein structures. She collected experiences in European laboratories, including several short visits/experiments at the ESRF synchrotron in Grenoble and at SOLEIL in Paris. She has been working in lab equipe for ten years, covering different positions within the research group, from master degree student to post-doc. She has been the supervisor of students, also giving lessons on the structural approaches applied to cancer therapy.

Abstract

Abstract : Type I BIR domain inhibitors in cancer therapy: designing drugs to modulate the NF-κB pathway