Inaugural GIUNTA LAB RETREAT AT TIVOLI TERME & VILLA GREGORIANA

Hard to describe in words how wonderful, productive and much-needed our first lab retreat was! We left the University campus by train and in just over an hour we were in our Grand Hotel in Tivoli, where we started with an operational and management session to improve all things to do with lab, relationships and research over a buffet of sweets! Dinner and open bar helped the conversations, scientific and non, flowing to get us ready for day 2, with a 8 hours marathon of brainstorming from each and every member of the lab. Simona gave an overview of her career and the field - past present and future, and fantastic new ideas sparked! Aperitivo dinner, private spa, guided tour to the local majestic Villa Gregoriana were just some of the highlights of these amazing days opening up to guests and families for a final lunch by a millenia-old temple sampling local wine in the beautiful sun. To be repeated for sure!

simona @ Horizons in Molecular Biology Symposium

Simona Giunta presents at 22nd Horizons in Molecular Biology Symposium, Göttingen, Germany. From 9–11 September, the Scientific Talks will feature distinguished lineup of renowned scientists working in the fields of Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Structural Biology, Computational Biology, Neurosciences, Genome Biology and Developmental Biology. 

LUCA CORDA WINS 1ST PRIZE FOR BEST PH.D. STUDENT IN GENETICS & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Ph.D. candidate Luca Corda, the first person to start the lab with Simona as a Master student wins a prize created this year as Best Ph.D. student in the Program of Genetics and Molecular Biology at the University of Rome Sapienza. Congratulations to Luca whose work has now been published and all the best for his future endeavors in computational genomics.

December 2024

Exploring the intricate architecture of human DNA, the Giunta Lab is making strides in understanding centromeric sequences and their role in genomic stability. In a recent publication in the American Journal of Human Genetics, Dr. Simona Giunta and her student Sai Swaroop Chittoor showed through computational simulations that centromeric DNA is intrinsically prone to forming complex and unstable secondary structures. These structures have critical implications, correlating with chromosomal missegregation, which is a hallmark of various genetic disorders and cancers.

This work was spearheaded by one of the lab’s talented trainees from the three-year Bioinformatics program at the University of Rome La Sapienza. Currently pursuing a Master's in Data Science in Germany, Sai's exceptional contributions had been already recognized earlier in 2024, winning the Best Poster Award at the prestigious HUGO Conference held in Rome this year, where Simona also presented the lab work including other projects on new human diploid reference genomes and exploration of centromeres in disease states. The award-winning poster highlighted the integration of computational modeling and experimental insights to uncover the vulnerabilities of centromeric DNA and other human repeats, showcasing the innovative and interdisciplinary approach championed by our lab.

Congratulations to Simona, Sai and everyone in the lab and the university for their contributions to the field of human genetics—paving the way for a deeper understanding of centromeric DNA dynamics and their impact on genome stability!

July & August

The end of July saw Simona, along with Luca and Alessia attend the GRS and GRC Centromere events held in Portland Maine, USA.

At the GRS, Simona was chair of the session; Genetics and Epigenetics of Centromeric Chromatin as well as a Panelist discussing An Early Research Career in Academia and Industry

At the main Conference, Simona was a speaker presenting; "Centromere Genetic and Epigenetic Landscape in a Diploid Human Genome" while Luca nd Alessia presented posters about their PhD work. 

Much networking, collaborating and lobstering was done by all! l🦞

SIMONA IN EMBL-ROME SEMINARS 2021 "chROMAtin"

3 Dec 2021 

Simona's visit and talk for ChROMAtin at the EMBL in Rome

"Protecting our genome: mechanisms to maintain centromere repeats stability in human cells"

ELENA DI TOMMASO GRADUATES SUMMA CUM LAUDE

20 October 2021

Sapienza University of Rome

110 & Lode for Elena graduating with a Master Thesis Genomic Instability Analysis of Common Fragile Sites.