Nicola Aceto PhD

Nicola Aceto is a Swiss National Science Foundation Assistant Professor of Oncology and Group Leader of the Cancer Metastasis laboratory at the Department of Biomedicine of the University Hospital Basel. His research group investigates the molecular events that lead to the initiation and maintenance of cancer metastasis, with a particular focus on the biology of circulating tumour cells (CTCs). CTCs are found in patients as both single CTCs and CTC-clusters, with the latter being associated with a significantly increased metastatic potential. Using a combination of patients’ blood samples, mouse models, microfluidic and robotic technologies for CTC isolation, single-cell next-generation sequencing, molecular and computational biology, the Aceto lab aims to dissect the vulnerabilities of CTC-clusters, with the goal to suppress the metastatic spread of cancer.

The Aceto laboratory has several collaborations with other academic groups as well as pharmaceutical companies located in Switzerland and the USA. Research in the lab is supported by the European Research Council (ERC), the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the Swiss Cancer League, Krebsliga beider Basel, and the University of Basel.