Marseille, France – April 8, 2024 – The Theories and Approaches of Genomic Complexity (TAGC) laboratory at Aix-Marseille Université and Advanced BioDesign are proud to announce the successful defense of Francesco Leonetti’s doctoral thesis, titled « Uncovering Drug‑Adaptive Epigenetic Response in Acute Myeloid Leukemia. » The public defense took place on Monday, April 8 at the Luminy Science Park in Marseille.
A Major Milestone Underscoring TAGC and ABD’s Leadership in Translational Epigenetics and Their Commitment to Advancing Precision Oncology.
Leonetti’s research addresses one of the most pressing challenges in hematology: drug resistance in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). AML is a highly aggressive blood cancer characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation of immature myeloid cells. Despite the availability of intensive chemotherapy, nearly a quarter of patients show no initial response to treatment, and over half eventually relapse.
A key mechanism behind this resistance is the overexpression of ALDH1 (aldehyde dehydrogenase 1), an enzyme that enhances cancer cell survival through detoxification and modulation of gene expression. Leonetti’s work focused on identifying drug-responsive regulatory elements, particularly enhancers activated in response to daunorubicin, a chemotherapy commonly used to treat AML.
By mapping these enhancers to their gene targets, Leonetti uncovered molecular mechanisms that support AML cell survival under drug pressure. His findings open the door to novel, targeted therapeutic strategies and the rational design of drug combinations that may overcome resistance in AML patients.
The thesis was supervised by Dr. Salvatore Spicuglia and co-supervised by Dr. Mileidys Perez-Alea.
The examining jury included:
- Prof. Regis Costello (Chair)
- Dr. Guillaume Bossis (Reviewer)
- Dr. Julia Lorenzo Rivera (Reviewer)
- Dr. Meritxell Albeich‑Jorda (Examiner)
This important milestone highlights TAGC and ABD’s leadership in translational epigenetics and its commitment to advancing personalized medicine in oncology.
