Luca Falzone
Keywords
Epigenetics; Translational Oncology; Drug Resistance; Biomarkers; Diagnosis; Prognosis; microRNAs; Liquid Biopsy; droplet digital PCR
Luca Falzone is an Assistant Professor in Laboratory Medicine Techniques (MEDS-26/A) at the Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania.
He earned his Ph.D. (with distinction) in Basic and Applied Biomedical Sciences – Translational Oncology curriculum, a Master’s Degree in Medical Biotechnology (with honors), a First-Level Master’s in Biomolecular Techniques, and a Second-Level Master’s in Bioinformatics (with honors), all from the University of Catania.
At the University of Catania, he leads the research group "Cancer Epigenetics and Biomarker Discovery", focusing on the development of innovative diagnostic methodologies and the study of epigenetic mechanisms involved in tumor development, with particular attention to drug resistance and personalized oncology. From 2017 to 2023, he was a researcher at the National Cancer Institute IRCCS “G. Pascale” Foundation in Naples, where he investigated the role of microRNAs and DNA methylation in tumor development and progression, as well as their use as early biomarkers for various cancers. Over the years, he has established numerous national and international collaborations, working on the development of novel computational and experimental strategies for the identification and validation of biomarkers from liquid biopsy samples.
He is the Principal Investigator of several competitive research projects focused on epigenetic biomarkers, liquid biopsy, tumor organoids, and mechanisms of chemoresistance.
His research has been presented at numerous international scientific conferences and has received several awards and honors, including the "Cecilia Cioffrese - Oncology 2022" Award from the Carlo Erba Foundation and the "Positive Droplet Award" in the category “miRNA detection and quantification” from Bio-Rad Laboratories for his innovative studies on microRNA identification in liquid biopsy samples.
Finally, he is the author of over 115 publications in indexed international scientific journals, with an h-index of 46 (Scopus) and more than 9,800 total citations.
(Last Update: June 3, 2025)
His research activities are focused on the development of innovative diagnostic methodologies in oncology and the study of molecular mechanisms underlying neoplastic transformation. Throughout his career, he has established productive collaborations with numerous national and international research institutions, particularly exploring the role of epigenetic modifications in human cancer development. In this context, he has developed novel computational and molecular approaches for the identification of epigenetic alterations and the assessment of DNA methylation and microRNA expression levels associated with cancer progression (Gattuso G et al., IJMS 2024; Crimi S et al., Biology 2020; Falzone L et al., Cancers 2020; Candido S et al., Oncol Rep 2019; Falzone L et al., Cancers 2019; Falzone L et al., Aging-US 2018).
More recently, his research has expanded to the identification of factors associated with cancer drug resistance and the development of new therapeutic strategies aimed at optimizing integrated cancer care protocols (Salemi R et al., J Transl Med 2023; Candido S et al., Pharmaceutics 2022; Falzone L et al., Front Pharmacol 2018). He is currently engaged in drug screening studies to evaluate the efficacy of various chemotherapeutic agents using advanced in vitro models (tumor organoids) with the goal of improving and personalizing current cancer therapies. His work in this area has attracted the interest of the journal Cell, which commissioned him to edit a Snapshot on chemotherapeutic agents currently used in oncology (Falzone L et al., Cell 2023).
Luca Falzone is a Member of the Executive Board of the Metropolitan Association of Catania of the Italian League for the Fight Against Cancer (LILT) and a member of the Academic Board of the PhD Program in Basic and Applied Biomedical Sciences. He also serves as a reviewer of international research projects funded by the European Research Council (ERC), the World Cancer Research Fund International (WCRF), the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), and the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS). Additionally, he is a member of the editorial board and a peer reviewer for numerous indexed international journals.