Lenina Natale
e-mail: lenina.natale@szn.it; lenny.nat@libero.it
Tel. +393937187708
Working experience and education
July 2014 – December 2014
Research Fellow
Laboratory of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology,
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy.
“Cultivation of microalgae in different growth conditions
and growth of microalgae in bioreactors in different
environmental conditions (temperature, light, pH)” .
Research activity performed in the framework of the
project
“Antigens and adjuvants for vaccines and
immunotherapy”, funded by PON 2007-2013.
Supervisor: Dr. Giovanna Romano.
January 2013 - December 2013 Research Fellow
Laboratory of Animal Physiology and Evolution,
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy.
“Ciona intestinalis as animal model for the study of
dynamics regulating the interaction between microbiota
and immune system in the gut”.
Research activity performed in the framework of the
project Model Organisms (MODO), funded by POR
Campania FSE 2007/2013.
Supervisor: Dr. Maria Rosaria Pinto.
December 2009 – Novembre 2012 Ph. D degree in “Life and Biomolecular Sciences”
The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK, and Stazione
Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy.
“Variable region-containing Chitin Binding Proteins
(VCBPs) in Ciona intestinalis”.
Supervisor: Dr. Maria Rosaria Pinto
June 2009
Master degree in Chemistry
Università degli studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Naples,
Italy and Institute of Protein Biochemistry (IBP),
National Council of Research (CNR), Naples, Italy.
“ABC (ATP-Binding Cassette) systems for transport of
oligopeptides in the archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus”.
Supervisor: Dr. Gianna Palmieri
Scientific Publications and Conference Presentations
•
Liberti A., Melillo D., Zucchetti I., Natale L., Dishaw L. J., Litman G. W., De Santis R.
and Pinto M. R. (2014). “Expression of Ciona intestinalis variable region-containing
chitin binding proteins during development of gastrointestinal tract and their role in
host-microbe interactions”. PLoS One, May 2;9(5). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0094984.
•
Dishaw L. J., Flores-Torres J., Lax S., Gemayel K., Leigh B., Melillo D., Mueller M. G.,
Natale L., Zucchetti I., De Santis R., Pinto M. R., Litman G. W. and Gilbert J. A. (2014).
“The gut of geographically disparate Ciona intestinalis harbor a core microbiota”. PLoS
one, Apr 2;9(4). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093386
•
Dishaw L. J., Giacomelli S., Melillo D., Zucchetti I., Haire R. N., Natale L., Russo N. A.,
De Santis R., Litman G. W. and Pinto M. R. (2011). “A role for variable regioncontaining chitin-binding proteins (VCBPs) in host gut-bacteria interactions”.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America 108,
16747-16752.
•
Gogliettino M., Balestrieri M., Pocsflavi G., Fiume I., Natale L., Rossi M. and Palmieri
G. (2010). “A highly selective oligopeptide binding protein from the archaeon
Sulfolobus solfataricus”. Journal of Bacteriology 192, 3123-3131.
•
Stefano Giacomelli, Daniela Melillo, Ivana Zucchetti, Larry J. Dishaw, Robert N. Haire,
Lenina Natale, Nicola A. Russo, Rosaria De Santis, Gary W. Litman, Maria Rosaria
Pinto. “Protochordate VCBPs are involved in the host-microbial dialogue of the gut”.
The 6th International Tunicate meeting, July 3-7, 2011, Montreal, Canada.
Practical Courses
•
“Illumina Next Generation Sequencing Technology. A revolutionary approach to
study microbial genetics”. Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, 28 June 2012.
•
“Workshop on Confocal Microscopy”. Ceinge-Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, 28
April 2010.
Languages
Italian: Mother tongue
English: Fluent