Dr Giorgia Cioccoloni

Profile

Dr Giorgia Cioccoloni is a Lecturer in Human Nutrition at the School of Food science and Nutrition. She obtained a BSc in Dietetics and a MSc in Human Nutritional Sciences before going to compleate a PhD in Medical and Surgical sciences at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Aftre her PhD, Dr Cioccoloni joined Thorne’s lab at the University of Leeds as post-doctoral research fellow, working on the impact of nutrition on breast cancer. During her research career she participated in design and conduction of several national and international nutritional driven clinical trials related to obesity, body composition, inflammation and cancer. She also has extensive experience in molecular biology, with particular focus on the molecular mechanisms which link
nutrition, obesity, cancer, immune resistance, and the relative translation and personalised medicine applications. Dr Giorgia Cioccoloni previously worked on the Breast Cancer Action Group funded project “Ex vivo co-culture using LDL-C high derived adipocytes, macrophages and fibroblasts to reprogram triple negative breast cancer epithelial cells”. Currently, Dr Cioccoloni is a Co-I of the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) research project “Predicting responses to chemotherapy in breast cancer treatment”.

 

Responsibilities

• Study Abroad Tutor @School of Food Science and Nutrition

Research interests

Obesity and Immune resistance

Another research topics Dr Cioccoloni is studying is the relationship between obesity, cholesterol metabolism and immune resistance in cancer. Immune resistance is common event in cancer biology, where the immune system is not able to arrest cancer onset and proliferation. Several mechanisms are involved in the ability of cancer cells to avoid immune killing. Her research interest is to discover the mechanism of action of obesity and cholesterol metabolism in cancer immune escape. 

Nuclear Receptors, nutrition and Chemotherapy resistance

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive breast cancer subtype with high incidence of relapse events. These characteristics are related to the peculiar chemotherapy resistance showed in this disease. Nutrients can directly control genes involved in chemotherapy resistance through the activation of nutrient dependent transcription factors. Through their ability to activate the nuclear receptors, nutritional compounds control numerous gene involved in chemotherapy resistance. One of Dr Cioccoloni research theme is to understand how these nutrients affect chemotherapy resistance in TNBC.

Tumour Microenvironment and cancer treatment 

Tumour microenvironment (TME) is a heterogeneous ecosystem composed by cancer cells and different non-cancer cells. TME can influence chemotherapy response in cancer patients leading to diverse prognostic outcomes. In this context, Dr Cioccoloni research is focused on the role of adipocytes and fibroblasts in TNBC chemoresistance.

<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Any research projects I'm currently working on will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

Qualifications

• BSc in Dietetics
• MSc in Human Nutritional Sciences
• PhD in Clinical Nutrition and Nutrigenomics

Student education

I am module leader for FOOD1050 – Elements of Human Nutrition and FOOD1150- Principles of Human Physiology and Nutrition 

I contribute in teaching for the modules Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease (FOOD2160, FOOD2165), Nutrition and Cancer (FOOD5340M, FOOD3340), Nutritional Issues in the Life Cycle (FOOD2201) and Nutrition Through the Lifecourse (FOOD5515M)

Current postgraduate researchers

• Alex Rzeszutek

<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>We welcome enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>

Projects

<li><a href="//phd.leeds.ac.uk/project/1681-exploring-the-role-of-obesity-in-cancer-immune-resistance">Exploring the role of obesity in cancer immune resistance</a></li>