Silvia Angori receives SSMF’s Postdoctoral Grant
The Swedish Society for Medical Research (SSMF) provides financial support to promising researchers in medicine who are at the beginning of their careers and supports both basic and applied research. Silvia Angori receives 3 million SEK distributed over three years for her project titled "Uncovering the role of SAMHD1 in tumor suppression and therapy resistance in cutaneous melanoma."
Silvia Angori is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Oncology-Pathology in Hanna Eriksson's group and her project investigates the role of SAMHD1 in cutaneous melanoma, one of the most aggressive skin cancers. While immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapies have improved survival rates, many patients still experience disease progression, highlighting the need for new treatment strategies.
The project aims to comprehensively analyze how SAMHD1 affects skin cancer. SAMHD1 is an enzyme that helps maintain the balance of certain building blocks in cells. The researchers want to understand how SAMHD1 influences a signaling pathway called STING and whether certain inhibitors can be effective in skin cancer lacking SAMHD1. They will also investigate how SAMHD1 impacts cell stability and response to DNA damage, as well as its effect on the immune system and tumor environment. Finally, they will analyze skin cancer samples with different levels of SAMHD1 to understand more about its role.
“The aim of my research is to deepen the understanding of molecular mechanisms driving tumor progression and immune regulation, ultimately contributing to the development of more effective therapeutic strategies”, says Silvia Angori.