Giuseppe R. Diaferia

BIO

Dr. Giuseppe Diaferia received his M.Sc. in Medical Biotechnologies and his PhD in Molecular Medicine from the University of Milan. He completed a significant portion of his early research at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), studying pancreatic development and diabetes, before moving to the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan to investigate the epigenetic mechanisms governing pancreatic cancer cells.

As a recipient of the competitive Young Researcher Grant from the Italian Ministry of Health, Dr. Diaferia's work successfully mapped the transcriptional basis of intra-tumoral heterogeneity in human tissue samples. In 2025, he was appointed Group Leader of the Molecular Oncology Lab at the Botton-Champalimaud Pancreatic Cancer Centre (BCPCC) in Lisbon. His team focuses on using high-resolution laser microdissection, spatial biology, and AI-driven predictive modeling to bridge the gap between basic scientific discovery and precision oncology.

RESEARCH

Pancreatic cancer is exceptionally difficult to treat because a single tumor is actually a complex mixture of many different types of cancer cells. Some of these cells grow rapidly, while others are highly adaptable, allowing them to resist chemotherapy and cause treatments to fail.

Dr. Diaferia’s lab uses advanced microscopy and artificial intelligence to map exactly where these diverse cells hide within the tumor. In particular, they focus on the tumor's ability to invade the nervous system, a critical process that frequently leads to the recurrence and spreading of the disease.

Using innovative preclinical approaches that preserve the tumor's natural complexity, the lab is developing targeted "drug cocktails" designed to eliminate all the distinct cell types simultaneously. By combining these experiments with AI, their ultimate goal is to enable doctors to evaluate a standard tumor biopsy slide and accurately predict the exact mix and dosage of drugs needed to treat a patient's specific tumor.

https://www.fchampalimaud.org/research/groups/molecular-oncology

HOBBIES/EXTRAS

Juggling your personal life, your social life, and your work is hard, so I tried to improve my juggling skills with balls, clubs and balloons and, to get a new perspective on life… why not doing it walking on stilts? It might not improve your time management,
but the kids will love it.