The YS2C Committee
If you want to contact the scientific committee, please, use this e-mail address: ys2conference@gmail.com
Dr. Benoît Aliaga
PhD, Centre de Recherches en Cancerologie de Toulouse, France
Founder of YS2C
My research focuses on understanding oncogenesis and cancer cell evolution through the lens of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and aging. I investigate how epigenetic mechanisms shape cell identity and cellular interactions within the TME, with a particular focus on resistance to therapy. To address these questions, I analyze diverse datasets, including Hi-C, ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq, single-cell transcriptomics, spatial omics, and integrative multiomic approaches. This work aims to uncover novel biomarkers and regulatory pathways driving tumor progression and immune evasion.
Expertise: Tumor microenvironment, evolution biology, aging, epigenetics, and single cell
Hobbies: chess, cinema, comics
Dr. med. Steffen Fuchs, MSc
Pediatrician, Clinician Scientist, Pediatric Oncology Fellow, Junior group leader
Founder of YS2C
I'm a clinician scientist, who investigates deregulated RNAs in pediatric cancers to understand their contribution to tumor biology and translate the knowledge to new therapeutic strategies.
Expertise: Pediatric oncology, RNA biology, long-read sequencing, circular RNAs, alternative splicing
Hobbies: Road biking, climbing, cinema, eating carrots like Bugs Bunny 😊
Dr. Anna Salvioni
PharmD, PhD, Centre de Recherches en Cancerologie de Toulouse, France
I am a research associate in immuno-oncology at the Cancer Research Center of Toulouse. My research focuses on T-cell exhaustion and antigen specificity in gynecological cancers.
Expertise: T-cell exhaustion, ovarian cancer, antigen-specific T cells, flow cytometry
Hobbies: Dancing, hiking
Dr. Chloé Bessière
PhD, Centre de Recherches en Cancérologie de Toulouse & Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Biotherapy (Montpellier), France
Founder of YS2C
I'm a bioinformatician researcher and I'm interested in large scale sequencing data exploration with innovative methods based on k-mers. I mainly explore non-coding RNAs in hematologic malignancies in order to find new biomarkers.
Expertise: Bioinformatics, k-mer approches, non-coding RNAs, large scale data, transcriptomic
Hobbies: Badminton, travelling, reading
Dr. Laura Grunewald
PhD, Charite, Berlin, Germany
I am a PostDoc interested in Immunotherapy against solid Tumors, how we can outsmart the tumor microenvironment to make CAR T cells also functional against this deadly disease.
Expertise: Pediatric oncology, CAR T cells, tumor microenvironment, smart combination
Hobbies: dancing, snowboarding, running, hiking, I am a social butterfly
Dr. inż. Marcin Domagala
PhD, Max Delbruck Center, Berlin, Germany
I’m a postdoc with an interest in the role of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in the progression of B-cell malignancies. Currently, I’m investigating the impact of trogocytosis between malignant lymphocytes and tumor-associated macrophages using a spatial proteomics approach, to better understand and control this peculiar cell interaction.
Expertise: tumor microenvironment, CLL, flow cytometry, primary cells, monoclonal antibodies
Hobbies: Hiking, music, climbing, reading
Dr. Giulia Leonardi
MD, Centre de Recherches en Cancerologie de Toulouse, Institut Universitaire du Cancer de Toulouse, France
I am a medical oncologist at the Insitute Universitaire du Cancer de toulouse where I focus on clinical trial treated patients and immunotherapy. I am also a research associate in Pr Maha Ayyoub lab at the Cancer Research Center of Toulouse where I investigate HPV specific response in HPV positive tumors.
Expertise: oncology clinical trial, cancer immunotherapy, antigen specific T-cell response
Hobbies: discover hidden french villages and have fun
Dr. Giulia Montuori
PhD, Max Delbruck Center, Berlin, Germany
Giulia earned her Ph.D. in Biomolecular Sciences from the University of Trento, Italy, where her research focused on how RNA post-transcriptional modifications influence the aggressiveness of the pediatric cancer neuroblastoma. Following her doctoral studies, she continued her work on neuroblastoma at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. There, her research centers on understanding how extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) genetic heterogeneity impacts treatment response and therapy resistance. Giulia recently joining the YS2C Committee for its third edition.
Expertise: onco-immunology, CAR-T cells
Hobbies: , etc.
Dr. Thomas Lefeivre
PhD, Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, France
I obtained my PhD in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology from University College Dublin in 2023. I am currently working on acute leukaemias, focusing on how deregulated metabolism affects cell signalling, epigenetic regulation, and treatment response.
Expertise: Proteomics and phospho-proteomics, Transcriptomics, Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics
Hobbies: Team sports, reading, music, and nice food
Dr. Oriana Villafraz
PhD, Institut de Recherche en Cancérologie de Montpellier, France
I’m a postdoc interested in the metabolic functions of the tumor suppressor p53 and its mutant forms and in the role of p53 pathway regulators in protein stability. I’m also working on the development of novel mouse models to study Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a hereditary condition that increases cancer risk.
Expertise: Metabolism, p53 pathway, Li-Fraumeni, Metabolomics/Fluxomics
Hobbies: Dancing, cinema, cooking and eating good food
Dr. Javier Florido-Ruiz
PhD, Institut de Recherche en Cancérologie de Montpellier, France
In 2023, I joined the team of Dr. Le Cam (IRCM, Montpellier, France) as a post-doctoral fellow to develop skin related project on metabolic reprogramming of p53-mutated with a special focus on epitranscriptomic and mitochondrial metabolism.
Expertise: Metabolism, p53 pathway, Mitochondria, Epitranscriptomic
Hobbies: Bike, Dancing, traveling, reading good books and meet new people