Postdoctoral Position in Translational Oncology
Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy

A two-year postdoctoral position, with a possible 12-month extension, is available starting February 2027 in the Translational Oncology Laboratory at the Regina Elena National Cancer Institute in Rome. The position is funded by a European TRANSCAN project and is subject to regulations issued by the Italian Ministry of Health as the funding body. Accordingly, applicants must be registered with their respective professional order (e.g., Ordine dei Biologi) to participate in the selection process. The successful candidate will be offered a non-tenure position (contratto a tempo determinato). Salary is negotiable based on professional experience.

Candidate Profile
We are seeking highly motivated candidates eager to pursue their training and professional development in a competitive biomedical research environment.
Applicants must hold a PhD in experimental oncology or related disciplines and be familiar with topics and methodologies in: Cell Biology, Genetics, Protein Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Cellular Imaging, Oncogenomics, Pharmacology.
Familiarity with the computational analysis of RNA-seq data will be considered a significant plus.
A good command of English is required to ensure smooth written and oral communication with international collaborators. The successful candidate is expected to carry out his/her project with considerable autonomy and interact productively with lab colleagues.

Research Focus
Our research activity is currently funded by the European TRANSCAN network and focused on:
a) The identification and preclinical validation of novel therapeutic targets in cholangiocarcinoma models driven by the oncogenic activity of FGFR2 fusion oncoproteins.
b) The molecular characterization of drug-tolerant cancer cells emerging after treatment with therapeutic combinations targeting various oncogenic drivers (e.g., EGFR, EML4-ALK, KRAS, FGFR3) across different tumor histotypes.

Interested candidates are invited to send their CV accompanied by at least one reference letter to sergio.anastasi@ifo.it.

Recent publications from the Anastasi group
1) Cristinziano, G., Porru, M., Lamberti, D., Buglioni, S., Rollo, F., Amoreo, C.A., Manni, I., Giannarelli, D., Cristofoletti, C., Russo, G., Borad, M.J., Grazi, G.L., Diodoro, M.G., Giordano, S., Sacconi, A., Forcato, M., Anastasi, S., Leonetti, C. and Segatto, O. (2021). FGFR2 fusion proteins drive oncogenic transformation of mouse liver organoids towards cholangiocarcinoma. J Hepatol. 75(2):351-362. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2021.02.032.

2) Anastasi S, Alemà S, Segatto O. (2020). Making sense of Cbp/p300 loss of function mutations in skin tumorigenesis. J Pathol. 250(1):3-6. doi: 10.1002/path.5336.

3) Lamberti, D., Cristinziano, G., Porru, M., Leonetti, C., Egan, J.B., Shi, C.X., Buglioni, S., Amoreo, C.A., Castellani, L., Borad, M.J., Alemà, S., Anastasi, S. and Segatto, O. (2019). HSP90 Inhibition Drives Degradation of FGFR2 Fusion Proteins: Implications for Treatment of Cholangiocarcinoma. Hepatology 69(1):131-142. doi: 10.1002/hep.30127.

4) Migliore, C., Morando, E., Ghiso, E., Anastasi, S., Leoni, V.P., Apicella, M., Cora', D., Sapino, A., Pietrantonio, F., De Braud, F., Columbano, A., Segatto, O. and Giordano, S.et al. (2018). miR-205 mediates adaptive resistance to MET inhibition via ERRFI1 targeting and raised EGFR signaling. EMBO Mol Med 10(9):e8746. doi: 10.15252/emmm.201708746.

5) Anastasi*, S., Zhu*, S.J., Ballarò, C., Manca, S., Lamberti, D., Wang, L.J., Alemà, S., Yun, C.H., and Segatto, O. (2016). Lack of Evidence that CYTH2/ARNO Functions as a Direct Intracellular EGFR Activator. Cell 165(5):1031-1034. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.05.009 * equal contributors