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Academy: |  |
| Unit: | Department of Precision Medicine in Medical, Surgical and Critical Care | |
| Section: | Cellular and Molecular Oncology Laboratory | |
| Position: | Associate Professor (MEDS/26-A) | |
| Phone: | +39 091.23890817 | |
| E-mail: | simone.difranco@unipa.it simonedifranco86@gmail.com |
Prof. Simone Di Franco started his academic journey at the University of Palermo, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in biotechnologies Applied to the Feed Industry in October 2007, graduating with a perfect score of 110/110 summa cum laude. He initiated his research career in 2008 as a trainee at the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Physiopathology, under the guidance of Professor Giorgio Stassi. This research was part of his master’s degree in biotechnologies for Industry and Scientific Research, which he completed in November 2009, once again achieving the highest distinction of 110/110 summa cum laude. In 2010, Prof. Di Franco was awarded a competitive scholarship by the University of Palermo to join the International Ph.D. program in Immunopharmacology. Under Professor Stassi’s mentorship, his research focused on the role of the protein p63 in breast cancer progression. During his doctoral studies, he spent 12 months at the Laboratory of Experimental Oncology and Radiobiology (LEXOR) at the Academic Medical Center (AMC) in Amsterdam, working under the supervision of Professor Jan Paul Medema. In March 2014, he completed his Ph.D., earning a Doctor Europaeus certification for his thesis titled “Colon cancer stem cells: to be or not to be, is that the question?”.
Following his Ph.D., Prof. Di Franco extended his collaboration with Professor Medema’s group for another year through a Postdoctoral Fellowship funded by Sapienza University of Rome, which continued until December 2014. In January 2015, he returned to Italy, where he secured an annual Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC). This funding allowed him to investigate the role of the tumor microenvironment, with a particular emphasis on adipose tissue, in colorectal cancer progression. During 2017 and 2018, he was awarded annual Postdoctoral Fellowships from the Umberto Veronesi Foundation to study the paracrine effects of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in breast cancer. In January 2017, Prof. Di Franco was appointed Cultore della Materia and Exam Committee Member for the Pathology course (MED/04) at the University of Palermo. On December 31, 2018, he was appointed Research Fellow (MED/46) at the University of Palermo, working in the Department of Precision Medicine in Medical, Surgical and Critical Care in the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Physiopathology under Professor Stassi’s leadership, to be then appointed Assistant Professor (MED/46) in November 2021. In 2024, he was recruited by the University of Palermo as Associate Professor (MEDS/26-A).
Prof. Di Franco’s current research is centered on the role of the tumor microenvironment in cancer progression, particularly focusing on how adipose tissue – either directly or through immune cell regulation – affects cancer stem cells in colon and breast cancers. His work has also delved into the phenomenon of acquired resistance of cancer stem cells to anti-tumor therapies. Given the considerable intra- and inter-tumor heterogeneity observed in cancers, he recognizes the necessity of elucidating mechanisms that enable cancer cells to evade therapeutic regimens, thereby advancing personalized medicine. Prof. Di Franco’s future research aims to develop innovative methods to facilitate fast and reliable preclinical testing of combinatorial therapeutic strategies. These efforts include the use of tumor organoids as patient avatars and co-culture systems of cancer stem cells and tumor microenvironment components. His goal is to establish tailored therapeutic regimens based on tumor staging, molecular subtypes, and mutational status to optimize efficacy and minimize adverse effects in cancer treatment.
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