Professor Alessia Buscaino
University of Kent, UK
Talk Title
Understanding the role of non-coding RNAs in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans
Biography
Professor Alessia Buscaino is a Group Leader at the Kent Fungal Group (University of Kent, UK). Alessia graduated in Molecular Biology at the University of Palermo (Italy). For her PhD, Alessia joined the laboratory of Dr. Asifa Akhtar at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL; Germany). During her PhD, her interest in non-coding RNAs, chromatin modifications and epigenetics flourished while investigating mechanisms of Dosage Compensation in Drosophila melanogaster. For her postdoctoral studies, Alessia moved further north and joined the laboratory of Prof. Robin Allshire (Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology) thanks to an EMBO long-term post-doctoral fellowship. During her post-doc she investigated the interplay between RNAi and heterochromatin in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Keen to apply her expertise in model systems to clinically relevant pathogens, Alessia moved to the laboratory of Prof. Judith Berman in Israel to understand how non-coding RNAs and chromatin regulate the biology of the main fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Alessia joined the University of Kent in 2013: her group is dedicated to understanding how chromatin and non-coding RNA impacts fungal pathogen adaptation to different host-niche environments. In addition to scientific discovery, Alessia is passionate about diversity and inclusivity in Science and Higher Education.