Emily is a Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University. Her research focuses on the use of chemical knowledge to transform the understanding of microbial metabolism, with an overarching focus on the human gut microbiome and its role in host biology. The Balskus and the Balbo research groups collaborate to unravel the mechanisms by which the gut bacterial genotoxin colibactin is implicated in colorectal cancer development.

Dr. Pampanin is a researcher  based at the University of Stavanger. She has been leading environmental monitoring programs for multiple contaminants in different countries with a specific focus on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds. Her research has applied proteomic analyses, using mass spectrometry and biochemistry methods to better understand the sub-lethal effects of contaminants on marine organisms. Through collaboration with the Balbo Lab, we conduct research to identify and characterize DNA adduct as biomarkers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon environmental contamination through DNA adductomic analysis of the livers of Atlantic cod exposed to crude oil. 

Dr. Sturla is a Professor of Toxicology at ETH Zurich. Her research focuses on studying chemical and biochemical processes influencing the toxicity of diet and environment-derived molecules and on developing chemistry-based tools to facilitate such studies. The Sturla and Balbo research groups collaborate to evaluate the use of DNA damage as a biomarker in chemotherapy personalization. 

Dr. Jiri Zavadil is the head of the Molecular Mechanisms and Biomarkers Group at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).  His research focuses on unraveling the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis, with a particular emphasis on the effects of environmental, life-style and iatrogenic factors on DNA integrity, gene regulation including epigenetic and chromatin remodeling mechanisms that critically determine cancer cell phenotype outcomes. Dr. Zavadil provides his expertise in collaboration with Dr. Balbo on a proposal investigating the mechanisms of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis related to human oral cancer following the exposure to ethanol (or its metabolite acetaldehyde), in conjunction with the determination of pre-mutagenic lesions by advanced adductomic analyses. 

Dr. Silvia Balbo has a collaboration with the University of Basel in Switzerland. This research focuses on understanding the role of different immune response initiators for the activation of cells under physiological and pathological conditions.

Dr. Silvia Balbo created an exchange program between the University of Torino and Milano and her lab at the University of Minnesota. This program allows Masters students to complete their research in our lab.