
International School of Nanomedicine
School Directors Massimo Masserini & Mauro Ferrari
Ettore Majorana Foundation and Center for
Scientific Culture
ERICE (Sicily) – Italy
​Organizational Secretariat: Silvia Sesana
e-mail: nanomedicine.school@unimib.it
25-29 July 2025
8th Course: Integrating Biochemical Insights to Overcome Clinical Challenges in Cancer Nanomedicine
Course Director: Ferdinando Chiaradonna & Francesca Re
PRELIMINARY PROGRAM
8th Course: INTEGRATING BIOCHEMICAL INSIGHTS TO OVERCOME CLINICAL CHALLENGES IN CANCER NANOMEDICINE
Erice, Italy, 25-29 JULY 2025
25 July 2025
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ARRIVALS
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Saturday July 26
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09:00-09:30 Opening remarks on behalf of School Director: Prof. Massimo Masserini
Welcome by Course Directors:
Prof. Francesca Re and Prof. Ferdinando Chiaradonna
Practical information: Dr. Silvia Sesana
SESSION I Cancer metabolism
09:30 - 10:30 Elizabeth Cohen-Jonathan-Moyal (Institut Universitaire du Cancer de Toulouse-Oncopole, France)
Implication of metabolism and tumor stem cell plasticity in glioblastoma radioresistance
10:30 -10:50 Davide Ferrario (University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy)
Innovative Design of Raft-like Nano-sized Liposomes for Targeted Nucleic Acid Delivery
10:50 - 11:20 Coffee break
11:20 - 11:40 Susanna Comi (University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy)
A novel, glutathione-activated prodrug of pimasertib loaded in liposomes for targeted melanoma therapy
11:40 -12:00 Francesco Saverio Sica (University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy)
Modulation of the blood-brain barrier permeability by patient-derived glioblastoma stem cell secretome
12:00 -14.00 Lunch break
14:00 - 15.00 Christian Frezza (MRC Cancer Unit, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom)
The role of mitochondrial metabolism in cancer
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15:00-15:30 Coffee break
15:30 - 16.30 Francesca Re (University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy)
Next-Generation Nanocarriers for Brain-Targeted Therapies
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16:30 - 17:30 Massimo Masserini
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Sunday July 27
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SESSION II Metabolic targets
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09:00 - 10:00: Marcin Krzjkawski (Real Research Sp. z o.o., Kraków, Poland)
Application of resistant oncology 3D cell culture research models in advancing drug discovery against solid tumors
10:00 - 10:20 Veronica Fontanini (University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy)
Advanced 3D cell cultures for personalized GBM therapy development
10:20 -11:00 Coffee break
11:00 -11:20 Valentina Berni (University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy)
Enhancing temozolomide efficacy in glioblastoma with metformin: insights from multimodal imaging in patient-derived models
11.20-12.20 Ferdinando Chiaradonna (University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy)
Targeting Metabolic Rewiring to boost cancer therapy
12.30-14.30 Lunch break
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14:30 - 15:30 Jonathan A. Coulter (School of Pharmacy, Queens University Belfast, United Kingdom)
Enhancing the radiation sensitivity of head-and-neck cancer via novel metabolic reprogramming strategies
15.30 -15.50 Barbara Zerbato (University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy)
PGM3 inhibition shows cooperative effects with erastin inducing pancreatic cancer cell death via activation of the unfolded protein response
15:50-16:30: Coffee break
16:30 - 17:30 Sara Sdelci (The Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) Barcelona Spain)
Metabolic control of tumour growth: from subcellular compartments to systemic interactions
SOCIAL DINNER
​​​Monday July 28
SESSION III Smart nanotechnologies for cancer therapy and immunotherapy
09:00 - 10:00 Chiara Riganti (University of Torino, Italy)
Lipid metabolism-targeting nanoparticles: new weapons against chemo- and immuno-resistance in lung cancer
10:00-10:20 Michela Patrucco (University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy)
Brain Metastasis-Derived Nanoparticles: A Novel Strategy for Enhanced CNS Drug Delivery
10:20 -11:00 Coffee break
11:00 -11:20 Franziska Adermann (Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany)
POx-Lipids: Immunologically Safer Alternatives to PEG-Lipids for mRNA Lipid Nanoparticle Formulations
11:20 -11:40 Jana Ismail (Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany)
Smarter Drug Delivery Using Hybrid Nanoparticles: A Versatile Platform for Improved Cellular Uptake and Therapeutic Efficacy
11:40 - 12:40 POSTER SECTION (rapid fire presentations from young researchers)
Rossella Mosca, Alessandro Masoero, Nicolò Percivalle, Saeid Aliakbarpour
12:40 -14.30 Lunch break
14:30 -15.30 Twan Lammers (Institute for Experimental Molecular Imaging, Center for Biohybrid Medical Systems, Germany)
Smart strategies to improve cancer nanomedicine performance and clinical translation
15.30 -15.50 Valentina Mangolini (IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Italy)
Biophotonic Strategies for Extracellular Vesicle Analysis in Clinical Applications
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CONCLUSION
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Social Excursion
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​Tuesday July 29
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DEPARTURES
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF NANOMEDICINE
Ettore Majorana Foundation and Center for Scientific Culture
ERICE (Sicily) – Italy
PRELIMINARY PROGRAM
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF NANOMEDICINE
Ettore Majorana Foundation and Center for Scientific Culture
ERICE (Sicily) – Italy