Ilaria Malanchi

Ilaria Malanchi investigates the stromal determinants of metastatic organotropism, demonstrating that successful metastatic colonization depends on specific tumor-stroma interactions at each organ site rather than being solely determined by tumor cell-intrinsic properties. Her work revealed that neutrophils in the pre-metastatic lung niche support metastatic colonization by providing lipid transfer and survival signals to incoming cancer cells. She has shown that metastasis-initiating cells establish reciprocal signaling with tissue-resident fibroblasts that co-opts wound healing programs. Her research provides a framework for tissue-specific anti-metastatic therapies targeting the stromal compartment.