Dr Cristina Tufarelli
Leicester Cancer Research Centre
Department of Genetics and Genome Biology
Room 504C, Level 5, Robert Kilpatrick Clinical Sciences Building
Leicester Royal Infirmary
Leicester LE2 7LX
Tel: +44 (0) 116 223 1853
Email: Cristina.Tufarelli@le.ac.uk
Current Position
Wellcome Trust Research Career Re-entry Fellow
Awards/Positions of Esteem
2020-2025 - Genetics Society Committee Member (Gene Structure, Function and Regulation)
2017-2018 – Lay Chair HSS equivalence assessment panel, Academy of Healthcare Science (AHCS)
Invited oral presentations
- May 2018 – Epigenetics Symposium, UCL Genetics Institute, London
- Feb 2018 – External Speaker –Institute of Genetics and Biophysics, National Research Council (CNR) in Naples
- Apr 2015 – London Epigenomics Club - Blizard Institute, QMUL, London
Professional Registrations
- Genetics Society
- British Association for Cancer Research
- European Association for Cancer Research
- Epigenetics Society
- Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Research Interests
Our research aims to understand the role of repetitive DNA in driving epigenetic and transcriptional alterations that predispose cells to acquire cancerous characteristics and to establish the potential for exploiting this information in the clinic.
We currently focus on:
- Determine which repetitive elements are active in precancerous and cancerous cells
- Understanding what causes activation of repetitive elements
- Establish activation of which repetitive elements plays functional roles in cancer
- Investigate whether expression of these elements has potential for early detection of cancer or as a predictor of response to therapy
To achieve these goals, we use a combination of ‘omics’, genome editing and pharmacological approaches in cell cultures and primary tissues.
Collaborations
- Prof J. Hughes and Prof D. Higgs, MRC-MHU, WIMM, Oxford
- Prof R. Khan and Mr J. N. Lund, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham
- Prof R. Meehan, MRC-HGU, Edinburgh
- Dr V. Sottile, Dept Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia
Career
I graduated in Molecular Biology from the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’ and then spent four years in the lab of Prof Ellis J. Neufeld in the Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School. After completing a DPhil in molecular medicine in the lab of Prof Doug Higgs at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, I moved to the Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, with a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship and then took up a lectureship in the School of Medicine, University of Nottingham. Following a career break, thanks to the award of a Wellcome Trust Research Career Re-entry Fellowship, I have returned to research within the Leicester Cancer Research Centre.
