dr. Martina Pannetta (PhD)
Postdoctoral researcher - Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research - Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University
Principal Investigator: prof. An Hendrix (PhD)
Research focus
Bacteria release bacterial extracellular vesicles (BEVs), nanometer-sized membrane particles carrying diverse biomolecular cargo, including nucleic acids, proteins, metabolites and endotoxins. My host laboratory provided the first evidence that gut-derived BEVs can be detected in the bloodstream of patients, including those with cancer or HIV (Tulkens et al., Gut, 2020). Building on this and my background in BEVs, this postdoctoral project will investigate BEVs within human body fluids, specifically blood and stool, to uncover previously unexplored aspects of their biology and function within their natural milieu.
Biography
- 2015-2021: MSc in Pharmacy (University of Salerno, Italy)
- 2021-2025: PhD in Drug Discovery and Development (University of Salerno, Italy)
- 2025-present : Postdoctoral Researcher (Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Ghent University, Belgium)
Key publications
- Long-term memory in epithelia: transient IFNγ exposure drives stable repression of TFF1 in gastric epithelial cells via epigenetic changes. Front. Immunol., 2026
Contact & links
- Lab address:
Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research,
Department of Human Structure and Repair,
Campus UZ Gent, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, The Core, entrance 37, 9000 Gent, Belgium - Martina Pannetta is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks