SR-Tiget Researchers Samuele Ferrari and Attya Omer awarded two ERC Starting Grants

The European Research Council (ERC) has announced the winners of the 2024 Starting Grants: among them SR-Tiget researchers Attya OMER and Samuele Ferrari , Postdoctoral Fellow and Project Leader in the Novel Gene Therapy Strategies Unit, respectively.

ERC Starting Grants support talented early-career researchers who have already produced excellent supervised work, are ready to work independently and show potential to be research leaders. With these grants, Ferrari and Omer will each receive up to €1.5 million for a period of 5 years.

The “ResolVE-XAS” project

Samuele Ferrari’s project is titled “ResolVE-XAS - Addressing Unknowns and Unmet Needs of VEXAS Syndrome by Multiomics Clonal Tracking and Targeted Gene Editing”.

Blood stem cells are special cells in our bone marrow that produce lifelong all the different types of blood cells our body needs to function properly. As we age, these cells can accumulate mutations in their DNA, creating an imbalance that can lead to diseases such as cancer and chronic inflammation. VEXAS syndrome, a recently discovered disease that affects elderly individuals by causing inflammation in several organs and many other severe manifestations, is poorly understood and current treatments are not very effective. Ferrari’s research aims at studying the DNA and behavior of cells in patients with VEXAS syndrome, using modern gene-editing techniques to create experimental models. The goal is to better understand the disease and develop new ways to treat or prevent it.

“Obtaining an ERC Starting Grant is a great source of pride for me," comments Ferrari. "At UniSR and OSR, first as a student and then as a researcher, I had the privilege of learning from the best mentors and receiving their trust. Now is the time, thanks to this prestigious recognition, to put into practice everything that has been passed on to me. It is a "new beginning", with the opportunity and the burden of developing new lines of research to understand certain pathologies and develop better therapies. I would like this result to be an inspiration to many young people in Italy who dream of becoming researchers but fear it would be impossible to achieve by staying in our country. My advice is: hang in there! With determination, sacrifice, the right choices, sincere collaboration with others, and also a bit of luck, nothing is impossible!”.

The “eHSCT” project

Attya Omer’s project is titled “eHSCT – Harnessing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Breakthroughs to Pioneer Advances in Transplantation Therapies”.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a powerful treatment that can cure severe blood and immune system disorders by replacing damaged cells with healthy ones. However, it is typically reserved for the most critical cases due to several significant technical and clinical challenges. One of the main difficulties lies in collecting enough healthy stem cells, as the process of encouraging cells to move from the bone marrow into the bloodstream is not always effective. Even after successful collection and infusion, the healthy stem cells must migrate back to the bone marrow and start producing new blood cells, but many of them fail to do so, leading to less effective treatment outcomes. Additionally, before these new cells can take effect, existing cells are usually destroyed using chemotherapy. While necessary, this process can cause serious side effects by harming other organs.

Omer’s project aims to address these challenges and make HSCT a safer, more effective option for a broader range of patients. The project focuses on enhancing stem cell behaviour by researching ways to improve their ability to find and successfully integrate into the bone marrow. Furthermore, it seeks to develop safer methods for depleting the bone marrow that do not rely on harmful chemotherapy, making the entire procedure both safer and more efficient.

Omer declares: “The ERC Starting Grant has the power to silence the imposter syndrome that so many of us face, and it's a personal milestone that gives me the confidence to believe in my place in the scientific community. Professionally, it is a catalyst to continue pushing the boundaries of my field and inspire others to do the same”.