Gruppo Morandi
TBT – TUMOR BIOCHEMISTRY TEAM
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Cancer
Coordinator
ANDREA MORANDI
Email: andrea.morandi@unifi.it
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-morandi-75a093b/
BSky: https://bsky.app/profile/andreamorandi.bsky.social
Andrea Morandi is Full Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Florence. His academic journey began with Biotechnology (BSc) and Medical Biotechnology (MSc) studies at the University of Florence, where he graduated with honors in 2004 and 2006, respectively. During this time, Andrea focused his research on MAPK signaling in both hematological and solid malignancies.
Following his MSc, Andrea pursued a PhD investigating the complex role of tyrosine kinase receptors in breast cancer. His academic path led him to the Institute of Cancer Research in London in 2007, where he worked under the mentorship of Prof. Clare Isacke. During his time there, initially as a visiting PhD student and later as a Worldwide Cancer Research-supported postdoctoral fellow, Andrea explored the role of the tyrosine kinase receptor RET in mediating response and resistance to endocrine therapy in breast cancer.
In recognition of his contributions to cancer research, Andrea was awarded a fellowship from the Fondazione AIRC per la Ricerca sul Cancro in 2013, which supported his return to Florence. In 2018, he joined the faculty at the University of Florence, where he has continued to develop his research and academic career, leading to his appointment as Full Professor in 2026.
Member of the following Boards/Scientific Committees
- Member of the Technical Scientific Committee of the Fondazione AIRC per la ricerca sul cancro (https://www.direzionescientifica.airc.it/about-us/technical-scientific-committee/)
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Italian Association of Cancer Research (SIC; https://www.cancerologia.it/)
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Associazione Italiana Colture Cellulari (AICC; https://www.aicc.website/)
- Member of the Committee of the European Network for Breast Development and Cancer (ENBDC; https://enbdc.org/)
Current member of editorial board of the following Journals
Associate Editor - Cancer & Metabolism
Associate Editor - Frontiers Molecular and Cellular Oncology
Editorial Board - Taylor & Francis, Molecular and Cellular Oncology
Research Team
MARINA BACCI – STAFF SCIENTIST
Email: marina.bacci@unifi.it
I obtained my BSc and MSs in Biotechnology and Medical Biotechnology from the University of Florence and a PhD in Life Sciences and Biotechnologies at the University of Sassari. I investigated the role of metabolic reprogramming in endocrine therapy resistance and I continued this journey thanks to Pezcoller Foundation and AIRC support. I am now Staff Scientist in Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences.
NICLA LORITO – STAFF SCIENTIST
Email: nicla.lorito@unifi.it
I earned my BSc and MSc with honors in Biotechnology and Medical Biotechnology from the University of Florence. Following this, I joined Prof Culig's lab at the University of Innsbruck before pursuing a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology on cancer metabolism in breast cancer. Then, with support from AIRC, I continued as a post-doctoral fellow in the Tumor Biochemistry Team. As of 2024, I serve as a Staff Scientist.
ALFREDO SMIRIGLIA – POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
Email: alfredo.smiriglia@unifi.it
I obtained my BSc and MSc in Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology from the University of Florence, both with honors.
I then started a PhD in Biomedical Science at the University of Florence investigating the role of metabolic aberration and gender-related differences in liver diseases. I am now a postdoctoral fellow investigating the metabolic reprogramming in therapy resistance, supported by Fondazione Veronesi.
FRANCESCA BONECHI – POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
Email: francesca.bonechi@unifi.it
I obtained my BSc and MSc in Medical Biotechnology from the University of Florence, both with honors. I first moved to Cologne (CECAD) in the laboratory of Dr Peltzer working on the interaction between lung cancer cells and adipocytes before returning to Florence to join the PhD program of Biomedical Science at the University of Florence, completed in 2026. I am now a postdoctoral fellow investigating the role of peroxisomes in therapy response.
ELISABETTA ROMANO – PHD STUDENT
Email: elisabetta.romano@unifi.it
I obtained my BSc and MSc in Medical Biotechnology from the University of Florence and I am now a PhD student in Biomedical Science at the University of Florence investigating the role of peroxisome in breast cancer, using multi-omic approaches.
GABRIELE TANI – RESEARCH FELLOW
Email: gabriele.tani@edu.unifi.it
I obtained my BSc and MSc in Medical Biotechnology from the University of Florence. I am currently a Research Fellow in the Tumor Biochemistry group. My research utilizes multi-omic approaches to support the personalized stratification of ER-positive breast cancer patients.
EDOARDO PAGLIANTINI – COMPUTATIONAL FELLOW
Email: edoardo.pagliantini@edu.unifi.it
I obtained both my BSc and MSc in Medical Biotechnology from the University of Florence. Currently, I am a Research Fellow in the Tumor Biochemistry group, where I lead the computational analysis efforts. I am actively involved in a project focused on integrating multi-omic data to develop prognostic and predictive signatures for breast cancer patients. This research is conducted in collaboration with the CAOS Lab at the Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences.
Current research interest
Metabolic reprogramming and deregulation are hallmarks of cancer. These alterations are not exclusively secondary effects of increased energetic and anabolic demands of the proliferating or invasive tumor cells. Instead, these traits alone are able to support and drive tumor initiation and progression. Importantly, metabolic reprogramming has a fundamental role in response and adaptation to anti-cancer therapies.
Our laboratory seeks to understand the contribution of metabolic reprogramming and the molecular mechanisms that drive this deregulation, particularly in the context of anti-cancer therapy resistance.
Indeed, preventing or bypassing drug resistance is arguably the most important unmet medical need in cancer management. Therefore, the identification of biomarker-defined patient populations that will most likely respond to the drugs is essential. Our work has multiple implications: (i) it will provide mechanistic insights involved in therapy response and resistance; (ii) it will apply multi-omics analysis to pre-clinical models to identify bio-markers of therapy response and resistance; (iii) it will generate experimental cellular models to study therapy response and resistance in several solid cancers.
Research Projects:
1. Metabolic reprogramming in endocrine therapy response and resistance in breast cancer
2. Metabolic reprograming in triple negative breast cancer
3. Metabolic determinants of CDK4/6 inhibitors resistance in breast cancer
4. Characterization of NAFLD to HCC progression: a gender approach with a focus on estrogen
5. The role of estrogen signalling in the progression of preneoplastic lesion of the endometrium
Current sources of funding of Andrea Morandi
AIRC IG 2025-2030 – Principal Investigator
AIRC IG 2020-2024 – Principal Investigator
PRIN2022 2023-2025 – Research Unit Leader
PNRR Tuscan Health Ecosystem – Research Unit Leader
Fondazione Veronesi 2026 - Scientific Supervisor/Host of Dr Smiriglia
Selected publications
Bonechi F, Bacci M, Lorito N, Smiriglia A, Subbiani A, Pagliantini E, Comito G, Gangarossa G, Duatti A, El Botty R, Sourd L, Romano E, Tani G, Segatto I, Belletti B, Meattini I, Livi L, Cerbelli B, Botticelli A, Fiorillo M, Marangoni E, Morandi A.
Cancer Res. 2026 Feb 2;86(3):679-692. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-25-1339. PubMed PMID: 41201246.
- Lead induces cell-autonomous proliferation and metabolic reprogramming of hepatocytes. Serra M, Smiriglia A, Migliore C, Caddeo A, Lorito N, Tani G, Zedda G, Columbano A, Perra A, Giordano S, Kowalik MA, Morandi A.
Cell Death Dis. 2025 Nov 10;16(1):816. doi: 10.1038/s41419-025-08134-6. PubMed PMID: 41213925; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12603040.
3. Estrogen-dependent activation of TRX2 reverses oxidative stress and metabolic dysfunction associated with steatotic disease. Smiriglia A, Lorito N, Bacci M, Subbiani A, Bonechi F, Comito G, Kowalik MA, Perra A, Morandi A. Cell Death Dis. 2025 Jan 31;16(1):57. doi: 10.1038/s41419-025-07331-7. PMID: 39890799
Highlighted in the EACR Cancer Researcher: https://magazine.eacr.org/highlights-in-cancer-research-march-2025/10/
4. FADS1/2 control lipid metabolism and ferroptosis susceptibility in triple-negative breast cancer.
Lorito N, Subbiani A, Smiriglia A, Bacci M, Bonechi F, Tronci L, Romano E, Corrado A, Longo DL, Iozzo M, Ippolito L, Comito G, Giannoni E, Meattini I, Avgustinova A, Chiarugi P, Bachi A, Morandi A. EMBO Mol Med. 2024 Jul;16(7):1533-1559. doi: 10.1038/s44321-024-00090-6. Epub 2024 Jun 26. PMID: 38926633
Bacci M, Lorito N, Smiriglia A, Subbiani A, Bonechi F, Comito G, Morriset L, El Botty R, Benelli M, López-Velazco JI, Caffarel MM, Urruticoechea A, Sflomos G, Malorni L, Corsini M, Ippolito L, Giannoni E, Meattini I, Matafora V, Havas K, Bachi A, Chiarugi P, Marangoni E, Morandi A. Sci Transl Med. 2024 Feb 28;16(736):eadf9874. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adf9874. Epub 2024 Feb 28.PMID: 38416843
Free-access reprint link: https://www.science.org/stoken/author-tokens/ST-1722/full
Meattini I, Becherini C, Caini S, Coles CE, Cortes J, Curigliano G, de Azambuja E, Isacke CM, Harbeck N, Kaidar-Person O, Marangoni E, Offersen BV, Rugo HS, Salvestrini V, Visani L, Morandi A, Lambertini M, Poortmans P, Livi L; Consensus Panellist Group. Lancet Oncol. 2024 Feb;25(2):e73-e83. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(23)00534-X.PMID: 38301705
El-Botty R, Morriset L, Montaudon E, Tariq Z, Schnitzler A, Bacci M, Lorito N, Sourd L, Huguet L, Dahmani A, Painsec P, Derrien H, Vacher S, Masliah-Planchon J, Raynal V, Baulande S, Larcher T, Vincent-Salomon A, Dutertre G, Cottu P, Gentric G, Mechta-Grigoriou F, Hutton S, Driouch K, Bièche I, Morandi A, Marangoni E. Nat Commun. 2023 Jul 14;14(1):4221. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40022-5.PMID: 37452026
8. Integrating radiation therapy with targeted treatments for breast cancer: From bench to bedside.
Meattini I, Livi L, Lorito N, Becherini C, Bacci M, Visani L, Fozza A, Belgioia L, Loi M, Mangoni M, Lambertini M, Morandi A. Cancer Treat Rev. 2022 Jul;108:102417. doi: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2022.102417. Epub 2022 May 21.PMID: 35623219 Review.
9. Fat and Furious: Lipid Metabolism in Antitumoral Therapy Response and Resistance.
Bacci M, Lorito N, Smiriglia A, Morandi A. Trends Cancer. 2021 Mar;7(3):198-213. doi: 10.1016/j.trecan.2020.10.004. Epub 2020 Dec 16.PMID: 33281098
Bacci M, Lorito N, Ippolito L, Ramazzotti M, Luti S, Romagnoli S, Parri M, Bianchini F, Cappellesso F, Virga F, Gao Q, Simões BM, Marangoni E, Martin LA, Comito G, Ferracin M, Giannoni E, Mazzone M, Chiarugi P, Morandi A. Cell Rep. 2019 Jul 2;28(1):104-118.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.06.010.PMID: 31269432
Full Publication list: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1JM7xFr2A8y56/bibliography/public/
Ultimo aggiornamento
25.03.2026