Developed skills and lines of research

Marco Cafora began researching cystic fibrosis during his master’s degree internship in Molecular Biotechnology and Bioinformatics at the University of Milan, focusing on bacteriophages as an alternative therapy to combat Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. Subsequently, after winning two research scholarships at the University of Milan, he undertook two years of post-graduate research. This included microbiological studies and investigations into the role of genes and inflammation in human diseases such as cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophies, using zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model system.

Most recently, during the PhD project in Environmental Sciences at the University of Milan, his research focused on the role of extracellular vesicles of human and bacterial origin, particularly examining correlations with air pollution and respiratory microbiota. He studied their inflammatory potential using the zebrafish model. Concurrently, over the last three years, he conducted research on the use of bacteriophages in cystic fibrosis in the lab of Prof. Anna Pistocchi (University of Milan), within projects funded by the Italian Cystic Fibrosis Research Foundation. He was author of 13 articles in international journals (7 as first or co-first author).

Projects funded by FFC Ricerca as Principal Investigator or as Research Manager

GMRF#1/2023
Ex vivo pig lung as a new model to study the efficacy of phage therapy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis