Volunteer: Fabiola Vacca
Fabiola is a PhD student of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Doctoral Programme at the University of Siena and joined Dr. Rappuoli’s research group (Monoclonal Antibody Discovery lab) at Toscana Life Sciences in October 2019. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Bioscience and Biotechnology from the University of Camerino and later studied Medical Biotechnologies (MSc) at the University of Siena. Her current research is focused on finding therapeutic human monoclonal antibodies against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, like Neisseria gonorrhoeae. She is working specifically on developing high-throughput assays using confocal microscopy, to determine the functionality of antibodies against N. gonorrhoeae. In addition, taking advantage of high-content imaging, she is also studying the interaction between host and pathogen in vitro.
Link to Fabiola’s LinkedIn profile.
FEMS Microbes is excited to present its latest thematic issue, focusing on bacterial-viral co-infections. Host and microbial factors are critically important for influencing the severity and outcome of infection. Interactions between microbes is an understudied yet important aspect to this process.
