Resume
Francesco Neri
San Francisco
Summary
- Ph.D.-trained aging biologist with 6+ years of productive wet lab research experience, coupled with proficiency in R programming for data analysis and visualization.
- Extensive experience in high-content imaging, primary human cell culture, and assay development
- Strong communication skills and operational leadership in both academic and startup environments.
Skills: Primary Human Cell Culture š Molecular & Cellular Biology š Assay Development š R programming š Data Visualization & Communication š Project Management
Experience
2024 - 2026
Director of Research & Operations | NeuroAge Therapeutics | San Francisco, CA
- First employee. Set up NeuroAgeās laboratory infrastructure, including procurement of equipment, negotiating with vendors, and securing permits to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations.
- Led target validation efforts, generating preliminary data that supported the submission of grant applications. This included the development of plate-based assays to assess drug response using live-cell imaging.
- Oversaw the clinical operations of the NeuroAge Test. Responsibilities included contributing to the cloud-based analysis pipeline for transcriptome and whole-genome sequencing data, the development of a custom CRM system, and coordination with partner services (MRI centers, phlebotomy services, and sequencing companies).
2021 - 2024
Biology of Aging PhD Student | Campisi Lab | Buck Institute & University of Southern California | Novato, CA
- Led multiple collaborative projects with other Buck and external research groups, which resulted in 2 first-author publications. These projects entailed developing a high-throughput imaging method to measure senescence burden and using high-content image analysis to identify sub-populations of senescent cells with different sensitivity to senolytic treatment.
- Supported the organization and coordination of multiple international aging conferences, including managing all volunteer operations for the Seno-Therapeutic Summit 2023 and assisting with the Longevity Summit 2022, 2023, and 2024.
2019 ā 2021
Research Associate | Campisi Lab | Buck Institute | Novato, CA
Created a step-by-step workflow to generate and analyze senescent-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) samples, leading to a first-author publication. This involved collecting several protocols developed by colleagues and carefully distilling them into a generalized and clear workflow.
Aided multiple projects led by other lab members, which resulted in 2 publications in peer-reviewed journals. My role involved preparing senescent samples using primary human cell strains.
Performed lab managing duties, including setting up centralized laboratory resources to share tested protocols and reagents among lab members, general maintenance of lab equipment, and purchasing new instruments.
March 2019 ā September 2019
Masterās Degree Intern | Campisi Lab | Buck Institute | Novato, CA
- Contributed to characterizing the heterogeneity of the senescent-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) from cell culture senescence models, which resulted in a published manuscript in a peer-reviewed journal. Specifically, I prepared SASP samples, which involved culturing primary human cell strains, inducing cellular senescence in such cell culture models, and validating senescence induction via multiple molecular biology assays (e.g. immunocytochemistry, RT-qPCR, western blotting).
February 2017 ā April 2017
Bachelorās Degree Intern | Perini Lab | University of Bologna | Bologna, Italy
- Established MYCN potential role in the upregulation of plasma membrane transporters SLC7A1 and SLC7A2 as measured by a luciferase assay in a MYCN-inducible neuroblastoma cell line. This involved the cloning of SLC7A1 and SLC7A2 promoter regions into a luciferase reporter plasmid, their transfection into the neuroblastoma cell line, and carrying out luciferase assays.
Publications
Senescent cell heterogeneity and responses to senolytic treatment are related to cell cycle status during senescence induction
Francesco Neri*, Shuyuan Zheng, Mark A. Watson, Pierre-Yves Desprez, Akos A. Gerencser, Judith Campisi, Denis Wirtz, Pei-Hsun Wu, Birgit Schilling
A Fully-Automated Senescence Test (FAST) for the high-throughput quantification of senescence-associated markers
Francesco Neri, Selma N. Takajjart, Chad A. Lerner, Pierre-Yves Desprez, Birgit Schilling, Judith Campisi, Akos A. Gerencser
Role of the Senescence-Associated Factor Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 in the Pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Stefanie Deinhardt-Emmer , Sharvari Deshpande, Koji Kitazawa, Allison B. Herman, Joanna Bons, Jacob P. Rose, Prasanna Ashok Kumar, Carlos Anerillas, Francesco Neri, Serban Ciotlos, Kevin Perez, Nilay Kƶse-Vogel, Antje HƤder, Kotb Abdelmohsen, Bettina Lƶffler, Myriam Gorospe, Pierre-Yves Desprez, Simon Melov, David Furman, Birgit Schilling, Judith Campisi
Oxylipin biosynthesis reinforces cellular senescence and allows detection of senolysis
Christopher D. Wiley, Rishi Sharma, Sonnet S. Davis, Jose Alberto Lopez-Dominguez, Kylie P. Mitchell, Samantha Wiley, Fatouma Alimirah, Dong Eun Kim, Therese Payne, Andrew Rosko, Eliezer Aimontche, Sharvari M. Deshpande, Francesco Neri, Chisaka Kuehnemann, Marco Demaria, Arvind Ramanathan, Judith Campisi
Comprehensive Profiling of Plasma Exosomes Using Data-Independent Acquisitions ā New Tools for Aging Cohort Studies
Sandip K. Patel, Roland Bruderer, Nathan Basisty, Joanna Bons, Pierre-Yves Desprez, Francesco Neri, Lukas Reiter, Judith Campisi, Birgit Schilling
Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of the SenescenceāAssociated Secretory Phenotype by DataāIndependent Acquisition
Francesco Neri, Nathan Basisty, PierreāYves Desprez, Judith Campisi, Birgit Schilling
Education
August 2024
PhD in Biology of Aging | Buck Institute & University of Southern California | Novato, CA
- GPA: 4.0/4.0
October 2019
Masterās degree in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology | University of Bologna | Bologna, Italy
- Final mark: 110/110 cum laude
July 2017
Bachelorās degree in Biotechnology | University of Bologna | Bologna, Italy
- Final mark: 110/110 cum laude