Elena Caproni

Elena Caproni is a Medical Biotechnologist with a strong Cellular/Molecular and Microbiological background focused on Vaccine Research. She earned her University Degree in Medical Biotechnology in 2007 at the University of Florence.  Then she moved to Siena and from 2008 to 2013 she joined Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Research Center as Research Associate. While working at NV&D she obtained her PhD in Cellular Biology and during this period she was involved in two projects: the development of a Chlamydia trachomatis vaccine through identification of antigens as possible vaccine candidates and the study of the in vivo mechanism of action of different classes of vaccine adjuvants (in particular MF59 oil-in-water emulsion). After achieving her PhD, also at Novartis, she dedicated other 2 years to the study of the role of Neisseria meningitidis surface antigen NadA in mediating bacterial adhesion to and invasion of host cells. Following a brief experience in Manufacturing Science and Technology Department in NV&D, from 2016 she joined Toscana Life Sciences as post Doctoral Reasercher, collaborating with the Professor Grandi’s group in the Advanced ERC projects (OMVac and VACCIBIOME) for the development of a novel-Bacterial Outer Membrane Vescicles based- vaccine platform against infectious diseases and cancer. She is particularly focused on the analysis of the role of gut microbiome in cancer immunity in vitro and in vivo cancer models.