info@medicampus.edu.mt
(+356) 2546 6007
Prof. Michele Sommariva, PhD
Michele Sommariva, PhD, is Associate Professor of Human Anatomy at the University of Milan. He teaches Anatomy across medical, biotechnology, nursing and laboratory science programmes and contributes to the PhD in Translational Medicine. His research focuses on tumour immunology, cancer-associated microbiota, Toll-like receptors, PD-1 signalling and the tumour microenvironment, with particular attention to lung, breast, melanoma, pancreatic and prostate cancers.
Education and Positions
2023–present
Associate Professor of Human Anatomy, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Italy.
2020–2023
Assistant Professor of Human Anatomy, University of Milan.
2016–2019
Research Fellow, University of Milan.
2015–2016
Postdoctoral Fellow, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori di Milano, Italy.
2012–2015
Postdoctoral Visiting Fellow, National Institutes of Health, United States.
2011–2012
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Milan.
2010
PhD in Morphological Sciences, University of Milan.
2007
Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, University of Milan.
2004
Bachelor’s Degree in Biotechnology, University of Milano-Bicocca.
Professional Activities
Teaching Activities
Teaching Human Anatomy within the International Medical School at the University of Milan.
Teaching Human Anatomy for Bachelor’s Degree programmes in Medical Biotechnology, Nursing and Biomedical Laboratory Techniques.
Member of the Faculty of the PhD Programme in Translational Medicine at the University of Milan.
Research Activities
Research focused on the role of cancer-associated microbiota in modulating the immune and stromal microenvironment in preclinical models of lung, breast and melanoma tumours.
Investigation of the expression and function of PD-1 in macrophages and natural killer cells.
Study of the immunological mechanisms underlying hyperprogressive disease following PD-1 blockade therapy.
Research into epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition mechanisms and the role of extracellular matrix components in pancreatic, melanoma and prostate tumour progression.
Evaluation of Toll-like receptor agonists for cancer therapy and investigation of Toll-like receptor expression and function in normal tissues, tumour tissues and embryonic development.
Research Funding
Co-Principal Investigator and Principal Investigator in research programmes funded by Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori di Milano, the University of Milan and Fondazione AIRC per la Ricerca sul Cancro.
Participation in research projects concerning precision medicine, cancer immunology, tumour progression and Toll-like receptor signalling.
Editorial Activities
Editorial Board Member of Scientific Reports.
Guest Editor of special issues in Cells and Frontiers in Immunology concerning the cytoskeleton, Toll-like receptor signalling and skin immunobiology.
Reviewer for journals including Cancer Research, Journal of Translational Medicine, Frontiers in Oncology, Frontiers in Immunology and International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Recipient of the AACR–SIC Scholar-in-Training Award in 2017.
Member of the Italian Society of Anatomy and Histology.
Member of the European Association for Cancer Research.
Member of the Italian Cancer Society.
