{"id":10178,"date":"2026-04-27T14:40:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T12:40:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/2026\/14\/cenci-giovanni\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T11:18:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T09:18:13","slug":"cenci-giovanni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/en\/2026\/14\/cenci-giovanni\/","title":{"rendered":"Cenci Giovanni"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"10178\" class=\"elementor elementor-10178 elementor-9370\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3b2f5c72 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3b2f5c72\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-25333428\" data-id=\"25333428\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b44d30a elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"b44d30a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-90de0e1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"90de0e1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Giovanni Cenci<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-38160b2 elementor-position-left elementor-vertical-align-middle elementor-widget elementor-widget-image-box\" data-id=\"38160b2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image-box.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-image-box-wrapper\"><figure class=\"elementor-image-box-img\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"724\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Progetto-senza-titolo-724x1024.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-10179\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Progetto-senza-titolo-724x1024.jpg 724w, https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Progetto-senza-titolo-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Progetto-senza-titolo-768x1086.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Progetto-senza-titolo-359x508.jpg 359w, https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Progetto-senza-titolo.jpg 1414w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"elementor-image-box-content\"><h3 class=\"elementor-image-box-title\">Full Professor of Genetics<\/h3><p class=\"elementor-image-box-description\">giovanni.cenci@uniroma1.it<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-dcc9085 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"dcc9085\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-e7ebeae\" data-id=\"e7ebeae\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d69b41d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d69b41d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Academic Appointments<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ec01b80 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ec01b80\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li>1998: Post-Doctoral Researcher, Sapienza University of Rome (Italy)<\/li><li>1999: Post-Doctoral Researcher, University of Rome &#8220;Roma Tre&#8221; (Italy)<\/li><li>2000-2007: Researcher In Genetics, University of Salento Disteba, Lecce, (Italy)<\/li><li>2007-2012: Researcher In Genetics, University of L&#8217;Aquila (L&#8217;Aquila)- (Italy)<\/li><li>2011- 2014: Adjunct Associate Professor, Temple University, Philadelphia (PA)<\/li><li>2013-2022: Associate Professor of Genetics, Sapienza University of Rome (Italy)<\/li><li>2022- to date: Full Professor of Genetics, Sapienza University of Rome (Italy)<\/li><li>2025- to date: Coordinator PhD Program in Life Sciences Sapienza University of Rome (Italy)<\/li><li>2022- to date: Senior Fellow, School of Advanced Studies, Sapienza University of Rome (Italy)<\/li><li>2013- to date: Associate Scientist, Fondazione Cenci-Bolognetti-Pasteur Institute (Italy)<\/li><li>2022-2025: Deputy Dean, Faculty of Science, SAPIENZA University of Rome (Italy)<\/li><li>2020-2024: Member of the National Thematic Group on Radiation, Italy Space Agency (ASI)<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-68d64e5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"68d64e5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Honors and Awards<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-829867c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"829867c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li>AGI Award for the best PhD Thesis<\/li><li>2004 Rotary Club Award for Distinguished Contribution to Research<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-32d2fe8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"32d2fe8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Scientific interests<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f9eb219 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f9eb219\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Genetic control of mitosis and meiosis. Structure and Function of Drosophila telomeres. Crosstalk between cellular metabolism and chromosome integrity. DNA repair and mechanisms of radioresistance   <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fa624d7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"fa624d7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Contribution to Science<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-db855f5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"db855f5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>Early Contributions<\/em><\/p><p>\u2022 G. Cenci began his career by providing the first detailed characterization of all stages of Drosophila spermatogenesis. This work, published in 1994, remains a foundational reference for scientists studying male meiotic divisions. <br>\u2022 In 1997, Cenci and his team identified the first gene in any organism required to prevent telomere fusions. This discovery led to the isolation of several mutants characterized by telomeric fusions.<br\/>\u2022 His subsequent research identified a multi-protein complex known as <strong>terminin<\/strong>. Terminin specifically associates with the ends of Drosophila chromosomes. Cenci proposed that terminin is the functional analogue of <strong>shelterin<\/strong>, which protects human telomeres.   <\/p><p><em>Human Health and Telomere Maintenance<\/em><\/p><p>\u2022 His research showed that most non-terminin proteins in flies have human counterparts involved in telomere maintenance. These findings established <em>Drosophila<\/em> as a powerful model system for studying human telomeres.<br\/>\u2022 Between 2003 and 2017, Cenci co-authored numerous high-impact papers exploring these mechanisms. His work bridged the gap between basic fly genetics and complex human cellular processes.  <\/p><p><em>Metabolism, Epigenetics, and Radiation Response<\/em><\/p><p>\u2022 In 2009, Cenci\u2019s team discovered that impaired citrate efflux from mitochondria leads to chromosome breakage. This study linked intermediary metabolism and epigenetic control to genome stability for the first time. <br>\u2022 More recently, Cenci has investigated the effects of low-dose\/low-dose-rate radiation (LDR) on flies. He discovered that LDR induces a radioadaptive response (RAR) that protects against extensive DNA damage. <br>\u2022 These studies revealed that RAR in flies shares features with radioresistance in tumor cells and Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs).<br>\u2022 Cenci\u2019s current research provides vital insights into CSC radioresistance and its links to DNA damage response.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-882d39d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"882d39d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">5 Selected publications<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aeeb26b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"aeeb26b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li><strong>Cenci G<\/strong>, Rawson RB, Belloni G, Castrillon DH, Tudor M, Petrucci R, et al. UbcD1, a Drosophila ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme required for proper telomere behavior. Genes Dev1997;11:863-75  <\/li><li><strong>Cenci G<\/strong>, Siriaco G, Raffa GD, Kellum R, Gatti M. The Drosophila HOAP protein is required for telomere capping. Nat Cell Biol 2003;5:82-4 <\/li><li>Musar\u00f2 M, Ciapponi L, Fasulo B, Gatti M, <strong>Cenci G<\/strong>. Unprotected Drosophila melanogaster telomeres activate the spindle assembly checkpoint. Nat Genet 2008;40:362-6  <\/li><li>Cipressa F, Morciano P, Bosso G, Mannini L, Galati A, Raffa GD, Cacchione S, Musio A, <strong>Cenci G<\/strong>. A role for Separase in telomere protection. Nat Commun 2016;7:10405  <\/li><li>Porrazzo, A., Cipressa, F., De Gregorio, A., De Pitta, C., Sales, G., Ciapponi, L., Morciano, P., Esposito, G., Tabocchini, M.A., and <strong>Cenci G<\/strong>. Low dose rate gamma-irradiation protects fruit fly chromosomes from double strand breaks and telomere fusions by reducing the esi-RNA biogenesis factor Loquacious. Commun Biol 2022;5:905  <\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-ed18a22 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"ed18a22\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-51be655\" data-id=\"51be655\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f77c831 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f77c831\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">On-going Grants <\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7e16126 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"7e16126\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<table class=\"ricercatori-table\">\n    <tr class=\"ricercatori-table-head\">\n        <td>Project Title <\/td>\n        <td>Funding source <\/td>\n        <td>Amount (Euros) <\/td>\n        <td>Period <\/td>\n        <td>Role of the PI <\/td> \n    <\/tr>\n    <tr class=\"ricercatori-table-row\">\n        <td>Non-canonical roles of cohesin and separase, beyond that of cohesion\n<\/td>\n        <td>MUR (Italian Ministry of University and Research)\n<\/td>\n        <td>98,000<\/td>\n        <td>2023-2026\n<\/td> <td>PI (5% of time)<\/td> <\/tr>\n    <tr class=\"ricercatori-table-row\">\n         <td>Unravelling a conserved role for HP1a in\nmitochondrial homeostasis\n\n<\/td>\n        <td>Fondazione Cenci-\nBolognetti-Pasteur Institute\n(Italy)\n\n<\/td>\n        <td>40,000<\/td>\n        <td>2024-2026\n<\/td> <td>PI (15% of time)<\/td><\/tr>\n    <tr class=\"ricercatori-table-row\">\n<\/table>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ca88149 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ca88149\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Complete list of published work in<\/strong><br\/>ORCID.ORG\/0000-0002-9628-1411<br\/><a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.co.uk\/citations?user=7B7vx3kAAAAJ&#038;hl=en&#038;oi=ao\">https:\/\/scholar.google.co.uk\/citations?user=7B7vx3kAAAAJ&#038;hl=en&#038;oi=ao<\/a><br\/>Scopus Author ID: 36979223600<\/p><p><strong>KEYWORDS<\/strong><br\/>Drosophila, genetics, chromosome, genome stability, telomeres<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Giovanni Cenci Full Professor of Genetics giovanni.cenci@uniroma1.it Academic Appointments 1998: Post-Doctoral Researcher, Sapienza University of Rome (Italy) 1999: Post-Doctoral Researcher, University of Rome &#8220;Roma Tre&#8221; (Italy) 2000-2007: Researcher In Genetics, University of Salento Disteba, Lecce, (Italy) 2007-2012: Researcher In Genetics, University of L&#8217;Aquila (L&#8217;Aquila)- (Italy) 2011- 2014: Adjunct Associate Professor, Temple University, Philadelphia (PA) 2013-2022: &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":9867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[192],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sapienza-researchers-funded-by-istituto-pasteur"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10178"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11511,"href":"https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10178\/revisions\/11511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.istitutopasteuritalia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}