Projects

PhD student: Alessandra Dormiente

PhD supervisor: Prof. Maddalena Manfredi

Leukoplakia is one of the most common potentially malignant oral disorders (OPMD), with a malignant transformation rate between 1% and 2%. 

Recently, research has focused on the role of the oral microbiota in the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and in the progression of OPMDs, including leukoplakia.

This single-center pilot study, promoted by the UO di Odontostomatologia di Parma, aims to investigate the oral microbiota associated with leukoplakia and its possible role in progression towards OSCC. 

Specifically, saliva, supragingival plaque, swabs, oral tissue from leukoplakic lesions, and fecal samples will be collected and analyzed using advanced sequencing techniques.

PhD student: Emanuele Selleri

PhD supervisor: Prof. Gabriele Andrea Lugli

The project involves comparative genomic and phylogenomic analyses of the bacterial genus Bifidobacterium, a group of microorganisms predominantly found in the gastrointestinal tract of mammals. Metagenomic datasets will also be used to reconstruct the genome of bifidobacterial strains associated with humans and animals, enabling the integration of host-related metadata. In the first phase of the project, a detailed analysis will focus on species with significant implications for human health, such as Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Bifidobacterium bifidum. This will be followed by a large-scale in silico analysis encompassing more than one hundred bifidobacterial species identified so far.

PhD Student: Sylvia De Napoli

PhD supervisor: Prof. Luca Carnevali

The objective of this project is to study the influence of gut microbiota on the development and progression of stress-related psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and depression. Human studies will be carried out to examine whether the composition of the gut microbiota can help predict an individual's susceptibility to stress. Furthermore, using animal models of stress, the potential causal mechanisms underlying microbiota-gut-brain interactions will be investigated. In particular, the role of the vagus nerve in the interconnection between gut microbiota and psychiatric disorders will be investigated.

PhD student: Dottor Enrico Corno

Tutor: Professor Andrea Dall’Asta

Chorioamnionitis is an infection of the membranes and amniotic fluid most commonly occurring during labor and associated with an increased incidence of adverse maternal and perinatal obstetric outcomes. To date, no efficient, non-invasive, and sensitive test to predict the occurrence of the condition has been developed. This is a single-center, prospective, observational study on a cohort of unselected singleton pregnancies. Patients will be enrolled on admission for delivery. The primary aim is to evaluate the impact of the peripartum vaginal microbiota on the development of maternal and neonatal infectious complications. The secondary objectives include the assessment 1) of the impact of the gut and oral microbiota on the development of maternal and neonatal infectious complications, 2) of the correlation between the maternal-neonatal microbiota and dietary habits during pregnancy and the antepartum period, and 3) of the gut and genital microbiota in neonates born from mothers with and without intrapartum chorioamnionitis.