Hi, I’m Matteo!

I am a doctoral candidate pursuing research in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences within the “Breast Cancer Translational Research Laboratory J.C. Heuson” at Institut Jules Bordet (Université libre de Bruxelles) situated in Brussels. My current focus revolves around analyzing bulk, single-cell, and spatial transcriptomics data pertaining to luminal breast cancer. My primary objective is to investigate the heterogeneity present in the tumor microenvironment by employing cutting-edge methodologies, both established and developed in-house. My expertise lies in bioinformatics and computational biology, supported by a solid foundation in cellular and molecular biology. Proficient in programming languages such as R, Python, and Bash, I am well-equipped to handle diverse analytical challenges.

Beyond my academic pursuits, I have a keen interest in music, photography, and travel, alongside a commitment to volunteering in childcare and educational initiatives.

Research experiences

Institute Jules Bordet (Brussels, BE)

PhD student in Bioinformatics (BCTL, Sotiriou’s Lab)
Investigating tumor microenvironment heterogeneity in luminal breast cancer with spatial transcriptomics
Sep. 2020 - Present

Bioinformatics Institute of Singapore - A * STAR (Singapore, SG)

Trainee - Research assistan (Huber’s Lab)
Unrevealing functional and structural features of Zika and Chikungunya viruses
Nov. 2019 - Feb. 2020

BioMediTech - Tampere University (Tampere, FI)

Trainee - Thesis worker (Nykter’s Lab)
Development of a pipeline (concerning ML) for the identification of cell types starting from scRNA-Seq data in brain tumors
Feb. 2019 - Jun. 2019

MBC - University of Torino (Turin, IT)

Trainee (Provero’s Lab)
Investigating the role of lncRNAs in the development of acute promyelocytic leukemia
Jan. 2017 - Jul. 2017

Education

Doctoral program in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences (Bioinformatics)

“Formation doctorale en Sciences biomédicales et pharmaceutiques (Médecine)”, Université libre de Bruxelles (Brussels, BE)
Putative dissertation thesis: “Spatial transcriptomics in luminal breast cancer”
Sep. 2020 - Present

Master’s Degree in Bioinformatics

“International Master in Bioinformatics”, University of Bologna (Bologna, IT)
Dissertation thesis: “Cell type classification from single cell RNA-Seq data”
Oct. 2017 - Mar. 2020

Bachelor’s Degree in Biotechnology

“Corso di Laurea in Biotecnologie”, University of Torino (Torino, TO)
Dissertation thesis: “Adaptive introgression from Archaic Humans”
Oct. 2014 - Oct. 2017

Languages

English, Italian, French

Honours and awards

Basic Science Scholar Award, San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2023 – December 2023, San Antonio (TX, USA)
ILC Symposium 2023 Travel Fellowship Awardee - September 2023, Pittsburgh (PA, USA)
ESMO Merit Travel Grant, ESMO breast 2023 – May 2023, Berlin (DE)
Singapore Pre-Graduate Award - November 2019, Singapore (SG)

Others

I’ve been backpacking in more then thirty countries around the world, having the opportunity to meet and to get in deep contact with different cultures around Africa, Asia, Europe and America. I had the opportunity to volunteer many times in different kind of countries, such as in India (“Nava Jeevana Rehabilitation Center”, Bellary), Tanzania (“Mbweni public school”, Mbweni - Dar es Salaam), Brazil (“Casa do Menor Brasil”, Miguel Couto - Rio de Janeiro) in the areas of education and childcare. I’ve been the social media manager for a couple of years for the NGO “Casa do Menor Italia” (Cuneo, IT), managing the communication of the association through the principal social networks.

Contacts

Matteo Serra
Breast Cancer Translational Research Laboratory J.C. Heuson - Institut Jules Bordet, Rue Meylemeersch 90, 1070 Bruxelles (BE) Phone: +39 3397920645
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