Lucia Grassi
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Lucia Grassi Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Microbiology (LPM) |
Lucia Grassi graduated as MSc in Molecular and industrial Biotechnology at the University of Pisa (Italy) in 2015. In 2019, she obtained her PhD in Clinical and Translational Sciences (Microbiology and Immunology) at the same university defending a thesis entitled " Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm infections: preclinical investigation of new treatment strategies based on the use of antimicrobial peptides. "
During her PhD training, she had the opportunity to conduct a significant part of her research in collaboration with the LPM. In November 2019, she joined the LPM as postdoctoral fellow to explore the therapeutic potential of the lung microbiome. Her work is funded by the Special Research Fund of Ghent University (BOF, Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds).
Lucia's research project aims at investigating the anti-virulence and anti-inflammatory effect of a wide collection of lung microbiome members in order to identify health-promoting bacterial species and exploit them as lung-specific probiotics. Lung microbiome members that target virulence and/or pro-inflammatory properties of the major respiratory pathogen P. aeruginosa are the focus of her studies. As a new potential source of anti-virulence and anti-inflammatory therapeutics, the lung microbiome may offer much-needed solutions fort the treatment of P. aeruginosa lung infections.