Elisa Oricchio facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Elisa Oricchio
Born	1979 (age 45–46) Vallo della Lucania, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Alma mater	Sapienza University of Rome University of Rome Tor Vergata
Occupation	Cell biologist
Years active	2010–present
Employer	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Known for	Identifying the ephrin receptor A7 (EphA7) triggers tumor suppression in follicular lymphoma

Elisa Oricchio was born in 1979 in Italy. She is a talented cancer researcher and a professor. She works at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland.

Elisa Oricchio made a very important discovery. She found that a protein called EphA7 can help fight a type of cancer. This cancer is called follicular lymphoma. Her work has earned her special awards. These include the Lorini Foundation Award and the Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists.

About Elisa Oricchio

Elisa Oricchio was born in 1979 and grew up in Cilento, Italy. She studied hard and earned two degrees in biology. She got them from Sapienza University of Rome. In 2008, she completed her PhD. This was in Medical Microbiology and Immunology. She earned it from the University of Rome Tor Vergata.

Soon after, Oricchio moved to the United States. She began her advanced research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. This center is in New York City.

Her Big Discovery

In 2011, Elisa Oricchio made a major breakthrough. She found that tumor cells died when treated with pure EphA7. EphA7 is a special protein that fights tumors. This was a very important discovery. It was in a field that had not been studied much.

Her discovery helped her get more funding. She received a grant from Sloan Kettering. She also got a Fellowship from the Lymphoma Research Foundation. This money helped her study follicular lymphoma even more.

Awards and Recognition

Besides research funds, Elisa Oricchio received several awards. She was given the Lorini Foundation Award in May 2012. This ceremony took place in Milan, Italy. She also received the Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists. This award was given in New York City in the same year.

In 2012, her research showed something else important. Nearly 70% of patients with follicular lymphoma had lost the EphA7 protein. She started working on ways to put this protein back into the cells.

Continued Research and Funding

Traditional chemotherapies have not cured this type of cancer. Because of this, Oricchio's work has received a lot of support. She was given another Fellowship. This one was from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She also got a grant from the US National Institutes of Health.

In 2013, her hometown honored her. The town of Vallo della Lucania gave her a special plaque. This was for her research. She successfully developed a "mouse model." This means she created a way to study the disease in mice.

Moving to Switzerland

In 2014, Elisa Oricchio moved to Switzerland. She was hired by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. She became a researcher there. She also helped create the new Swiss Cancer Center. This center is in Lausanne at the Lausanne University Hospital.

The Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research created a special position for her. It was called an endowed chair in Translational Oncology. On November 1, 2014, she became a tenured assistant professor. This was at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. In September 2021, she was promoted to associate professor.

Awards and Achievements

See also

In Spanish: Elisa Oricchio para niños