Cancer Engineering R&D
Flora Ascione
Technician
Flora Ascione brings together a multidisciplinary background in biophysics, engineering, biology, microfabrication, and advanced microscopy to design tailored experimental solutions and support cutting-edge biomedical research.
Her scientific path began at the University of Naples Federico II, where she built a strong foundation in biochemistry and molecular biology through work on recombinant protein purification. During her PhD in Chemical, Materials and Industrial Production Engineering, she focused on cell migration in 2D and 3D, combining time-lapse microscopy, advanced image analysis, and mathematical modeling. An internship at Institut Curie further strengthened her expertise in 3D cell biology and tumor invasion.
Her postdoctoral research, carried out between Institut Curie, the University of Naples, and École Polytechnique, allowed her to investigate how microenvironmental cues, topography, and fluid flow influence cell behavior, integrating biophysics, engineering, and mechanobiology.
Since 2018, she has been a Research Technician at IFOM, specializing in the fabrication and testing of experimental devices through microfabrication and 3D printing, as well as in AFM-based mechanical characterization of cells and biomaterials.
Publications Pre-IFOM
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Ascione, F.; Vasaturo, A.; Caserta, S.; D’Esposito, V.; Formisano, P.; Guido, S.
Comparison between fibroblast wound healing and cell random migration assays in vitro
Experimental Cell Research (2016) - Ascione, F.; Zuorro, A.; Fidaleo, M.; Lavecchia, R.; Guido, S.; Caserta, S.
Experimental investigation of honey as wound repair enhancer by in vitro time lapse microscopy
Chemical Engineering Transactions (2016) - Ascione, F.; Guarino, A.M.; Calabrò, V.; Guido, S.; Caserta, S.
A novel approach to quantify the wound closure dynamic
Experimental Cell Research (2017) - Ascione, F.; Caserta, S.; Guido, S.
The wound healing assay revisited: A transport phenomena approach
Chemical Engineering Science (2017) - Gaglione, R.; Dell’Olmo, E.; Bosso, A.; Chino, M.; Pane, K.; Ascione, F.; Itri, F.; Caserta, S.; Amoresano, A.; Lombardi, A.; Haagsman, H.P.; Piccoli, R.; Pizzo, E.; Veldhuizen, E.J.A.; Notomista, E.; Arciello, A.
Novel human bioactive peptides identified in Apolipoprotein B: Evaluation of their therapeutic potential
Biochemical Pharmacology (2017) - Duclos, G.; Deforet, M.; Yevick, H.G.; Cochet Escartin, O.; Ascione, F.; Moitrier, S.; Sarkar, T.; Yashunsky, V.; Bonnet, I.; Buguin, A.; Silberzan, P.
Controlling Confinement and Topology to Study Collective Cell Behaviors
Methods in Molecular Biology (2018) - Ferraro, R.; Ascione, F.; Dogra, P.; Cristini, V.; Guido, S.; Caserta, S.
Diffusion-induced anisotropic cancer invasion: A novel experimental method based on tumour spheroids
AIChE Journal (2022)
Chiral Edge Current in Nematic Cell Monolayers – Physical Review X (2022) – Yashunsky, V.; Pearce, D.J.G.; Blanch-Mercader, C.; Ascione, F.; Silberzan, P.; Giomi, L.
- Tonon, F.; Cemazar, M.; Kamensek, U.; Zennaro, C.; Pozzato, G.; Caserta, S.; Ascione, F.; Grassi, M.; Guido, S.; Ferrari, C.; Cansolino, L.; Trotta, F.; Grcar Kuzman, B.; Forte, G.; Martino, F.; Perrone, F.; Bomben, R.; Gattei, V.; Elvassore, N.; Murano, E.; Truong, N.H.; Olson, M.; Farra, R.; Grassi, G.; Dapas, B.
5 Azacytidine downregulates the proliferation and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo by targeting miR-139-5p/ROCK2 pathway
Cancers (2022) - Ascione, F.; Caserta, S.; Esposito, S.; Villella, V.R.; Maiuri, L.; Nejad, M.R.; Doostmohammadi, A.; Yeomans, J.M.; Guido, S.
Collective rotational motion of freely expanding T84 epithelial cell colonies
Journal of the Royal Society Interface (2023) - Ascione, F.; Ferraro, R.; Dogra, P.; Cristini, V.; Guido, S.; Caserta, S.
Gradient-induced instability in tumour spheroids unveils the impact of microenvironmental nutrient changes
Scientific Reports (2024)
Publications in IFOM
- Palamidessi, A.; Malinverno, C.; Frittoli, E.; Corallino, S.; Barbieri, E.; Sigismund, S.; Beznoussenko, G.V.; Martini, E.; Garre, M.; Ferrara, I.; Tripodo, C.; Ascione, F.; Cavalcanti-Adam, E.A.; Li, Q.; Di Fiore, P.P.; Parazzoli, D.; Giavazzi, F.; Cerbino, R.; Scita, G.
Unjamming overcomes kinetic and proliferation arrest in terminally differentiated cells and promotes collective motility of carcinoma
Nature Materials (2019) - Ghisleni, A.; Galli, C.; Monzo, P.; Ascione, F.; Scita, G.; Li, Q.; Maiuri, P.; Gauthier, N.C.
Complementary mesoscale dynamics of spectrin and acto-myosin control plasma membrane fluctuations
Nature Communications (2020) - Sáinz Jaspeado, M.; Smith, R.O.; Plunde, O.; Pawelzik, S.-C.; Jin, Y.; Nordling, S.; Ding, Y.; Aspenström, P.; Hedlund, M.; Bastianello, G.; Ascione, F.; Li, Q.; Saygili Demir, C.; Fernando, D.; Daniel, G.; Franco Cereceda, A.; Kroon, J.; Foiani, M.; Petrova, T.V.; Kilimann, M.W.; Bäck, M.; Claesson Welsh, L.
Palmdelphin Regulates Nuclear Resilience to Mechanical Stress in the Endothelium
Circulation (2021) - Stadiotti, I.; Santoro, R.; Scopece, A.; Pirola, S.; Guarino, A.; Polvani, G.; Maione, A.S.; Ascione, F.; Li, Q.; Delia, D.; Foiani, M.; Pompilio, G.; Sommariva, E.
Pressure Overload Activates DNA Damage Response in Cardiac Stromal Cells: A Novel Mechanism Behind Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction?
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine (2022) – - Frittoli, E.; Palamidessi, A.; Iannelli, F.; Zanardi, F.; Villa, S.; Barzaghi, L.; Abdo, H.; Cancila, V.; Beznoussenko, G.V.; Della Chiara, G.; Pagani, M.; Malinverno, C.; Bhattacharya, D.; Pisati, F.; Yu, W.; Galimberti, V.; Bonizzi, G.; Martini, E.; Mironov, A.A.; Gioia, U.; Ascione, F.; Li, Q.; Havas, K.;
Tissue fluidification promotes a cGAS–STING cytosolic DNA response in invasive breast cancer
Nature Materials (2023)
