PROJECT
SUPERVISORS

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Project Supervisor

Emanuele Azzoni

Background

I am an Associate Professor of Cell and Experimental Biology at the University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy), where I lead a research group dedicated to developmental and disease-related hematopoiesis. I earned my PhD in Translational and Molecular Medicine in Milan and pursued postdoctoral training at the University of Oxford (UK) before returning to Italy in 2019 to establish my laboratory.

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My research focuses on the in vivo biology of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), exploring their emergence, specification, and functional properties during embryonic and fetal development. Over the years, I have contributed to understanding how distinct progenitor populations sustain blood formation in early life and how they may act as cells of origin in pediatric leukemias. This work has provided new mechanistic insights into both hematopoietic development and leukemic transformation.
I have been honored with international recognition, including awards from Worldwide Cancer Research and the Leukemia Research Foundation. Alongside advancing the field, I am committed to training the next generation of scientists in cutting-edge approaches to experimental and translational hematology.

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Research

My laboratory investigates the developmental origins of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and how oncogenic mutations disrupt these programs to drive childhood leukemias. We focus on pediatric myeloid malignancies, particularly juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Using a combination of in vitro and in vivo platforms, including transgenic and xenograft mouse models, we study leukemia initiation and progression within physiologically relevant contexts.

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Our work integrates single-cell and spatial multi-omics, CRISPR-based functional genomics, and drug screening to dissect how mutational diversity reshapes signaling pathways, influences cell fate decisions, and alters therapeutic responses. A major focus is on PTPN11/SHP2 mutations, key drivers of JMML, with the goal of identifying mutation-specific vulnerabilities and novel therapeutic targets.
By bridging developmental hematopoiesis and disease modeling, our research aims to uncover fundamental mechanisms of blood formation and translate these insights into precision medicine strategies for pediatric leukemia.

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Publications

Barone C, Quattrini G, Orsenigo R, Fantin A, Brunelli S, Piazza R, Azzoni E (2024). Hemogenic endothelium of the vitelline and umbilical arteries is the major contributor to mouse fetal lympho-myelopoiesis. bioRxiv.
https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.07.11.603050

Crespiatico I, Zaghi M, Mastini C, D’Aliberti D, Mauri M, Mercado CM, Fontana D, Spinelli S, Crippa V, Inzoli E, Manghisi B, Civettini I, Ramazzotti D, Sangiorgio V, Gengotti M, Brambilla V, Aroldi A, Banfi F, Barone C, Orsenigo R, Riera L, Riminucci M, Corsi A, Breccia M, Morotti A, Cilloni D, Roccaro AM, Sacco A, Stagno F, Serafini M, Mottadelli F, Cazzaniga G, Pagni F, Chiarle R, Azzoni E, Sessa A, Gambacorti-Passerini C, Elli EM, Mologni L, Piazza R (2024). First-hit SETBP1 mutations cause a myeloproliferative disorder with bone marrow fibrosis. Blood, 143(14): 1399–1413.
https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.2023021349

Barone C, Orsenigo R, Cazzola A, D’Errico E, Patelli A, Quattrini G, Vergani B, Bombelli S, De Marco S, D’Orlando C, Bianchi C, Leone BE, Meneveri R, Biondi A, Cazzaniga G, Rabbitts TH, Brunelli S, Azzoni E (2023). Hematopoietic Stem Cell (HSC)-Independent Progenitors Are Susceptible to Mll-Af9-Induced Leukemic Transformation. Cancers, 15(14): 3624.
https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15143624

Azzoni E, Frontera V, Anselmi G, Rode C, James C, Deltcheva EM, Demian AS, Brown J, Barone C, Patelli A, Harman J, Nicholls M, Conway SJ, Morrissey E, Jacobsen SE, Sparrow DB, Harris AL, Enver T, de Bruijn MFTR (2021). The onset of circulation triggers a metabolic switch required for endothelial to hematopoietic transition. Cell Reports, 37(11): 110103.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.110103

Cazzola A, Cazzaniga G, Biondi A, Meneveri R, Brunelli S, Azzoni E (2021). Prenatal origin of pediatric leukemia: lessons from hematopoietic development. Front. Cell Dev. Biol., 8: 618164.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2020.618164