Ivan Nicola Colaluca

Ivan Nicola Colaluca

Email	[email protected]
Location	Building 13 Floor 2nd Via Adamello 16, Milano

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Member of

• Endocytosis, Signalling and Cancer - Group Scientist

Ivan Colaluca graduated from the University of Pavia with a degree in Biological Sciences in the year 2000 and then a PhD in Biomolecular and Genetic Sciences in 2003. His PhD, performed in Silvano Riva’s group at the Istituto di Genetica Molecolare -Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, was focused on the mechanisms controlling DNA replication and cell cycle progression. After completing his PhD, Ivan took a post-doc position in Pier Paolo Di Fiore's group at the Department of Experimental Oncology in the Istituto Europeo di Oncologia (IEO), Milan, where he is currently working as a Staff Scientist.

His research interests lie in the field of Molecular Oncology, in particular the molecular mechanisms underlying breast cancer. Among his main achievements is the elucidation of the molecular pathways involved in breast tumorigenesis driven by the loss of the tumor suppressor protein Numb. In a paper published in Nature, Ivan’s work described the positive regulation of the p53 tumor suppressor pathway by Numb, involving the formation of a Numb-p53-Mdm2 tricomplex, which is lost in breast cancers lacking the Numb protein. Ivan also contributed to the identification of the Notch oncogene as a critical downstream target of Numb that becomes activated in Numb-deficient cancer cells driving hyperproliferation. His more recent work is centred on the structural and functional dissection of Numb-dependent mechanisms, with the final aim of developing novel therapeutics for cancer treatment.