Silvia Affo

Biography

My dedication to liver diseases started when I joined the PhD Medicine Program at University of Barcelona under the mentorship of Dr Ramon Bataller and Dr Pau Sancho Bru, where I investigated the mediators of liver inflammation and fibrosis in alcoholic hepatitis. Intrigued to know more about the intersection of liver fibrosis and liver tumors, I moved to Columbia University in NYC, where I joined Dr Robert Schwabe laboratory. There I dedicated my investigation to hepatic stellate cells and their role in liver fibrosis and liver tumors, with a special focus on cholangiocarcinoma. During my postdoctoral studies I was supported by American funding including the ALF and CCF postdoctoral awards and in 2017 I was awarded with the prestigious AGA Research Scholar award, my first funding as PI, which was followed by the promotion to research associate scientist at Columbia University. In 2021, after being awarded with the Marie Curie and La Caixa Junior Leader fellowships, I joined IDIBAPS research institute in Barcelona, Spain. Here, supported by National funding and from the prestigious ERC starting grant, I started to investigate the plasticity and heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment during cholangiocarcinogenesis, with a special focus on cancer-associated fibroblasts and with the main goal to expand the new findings to other desmoplastic tumors.