Stefania Tocci, PhD
Post-doctoral Fellow
I am a postdoctoral fellow in the Tsai Lab. I grew up in Italy, where I completed my undergraduate and master’s studies in Medical Biotechnology. During my master, I completed a one-year internship at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) in Madrid, where I investigated molecular signaling involved in skin inflammation using mouse-derived primary cells. I then pursued my PhD at the Technion Institute in Haifa, Israel, and the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) in La Jolla. My PhD research focused on identifying substrates of the epigenetic regulator PRMT5 in melanoma and pancreatic cancer, utilizing CRISPR/Cas9 editing tools, proteomic, and molecular biology approaches. After completing my PhD, I began a postdoctoral position at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and later at UMass Lowell, where my research has primarily centered on the interaction between pathogens and host response contributing to inflammation linked to chronic diseases. My diverse training and my personal experience have strengthened my commitment to advancing the field of cancer research.