Leonardo Gatticchi is Associate Professor of Biochemistry (BIOS-07/A) at the Department of Life Sciences, Health and Health Professions at Link Campus University.
He graduated in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the University of Perugia with an experimental dissertation carried out at the Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) in Hamburg (Germany), studying the importance of post-translational modifications of proteins in the transport of lytic enzymes to lysosomes. In 2016, he obtained his PhD in Biochemical and Biotechnological Sciences from the University of Perugia with a thesis focusing on the role of alterations in cholesterol metabolism caused by the lack of one of the genes responsible for its biosynthesis (Tm7sf2 knock-out mice) and on the biological properties of cholesterol biosynthesis intermediates as nuclear receptor ligands.
Between 2016 and 2019, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Department of Experimental Medicine at the University of Perugia, studying the role of the Tm7sf2 gene in adipogenic differentiation processes and insulin resistance induced by a high-fat diet. He also participated in a study in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh to characterize the function of the nuclear envelope membrane protein NET47 (TM7SF2) in regulating the spatial and transcriptional organisation of chromatin in liver cells using DamID-seq. During the same period, he is conducting research in collaboration with the Neurology Department of the University of Perugia to study the protein aggregation mechanisms of α-synuclein and develop new methods for the early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. From 2020 to 2025, he participated in research activities at the Department of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Perugia for the development, through genome editing techniques (CRISPR/Cas9), of cellular models of human diseases caused by congenital enzyme deficiencies affecting liver metabolism, such as primary hyperoxaluria.
The afoerementioned activities are supported by projects funded by Novo Nordisk and the Oxalosis and Hyperoxaluria Foundation (OHF).
He authored several scientific articles published in international peer-reviewed journals, he is a member of the editorial board for Springer Nature's Journal of Rare Diseases and regularly reviews for several peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Curriculum Vitae OFFICE HOURS
The professor is available to receive the students at the end of the lessons. However, the students may also request an appointment by email.