Mariarosaria De Rosa, PhD
Assistant Professor, UNMC Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases
Research focus: Mechanisms of transcriptional regulation by oxidative DNA damage and DNA repair in cancer
Research
The De Rosa Lab investigates how oxidative DNA damage, particularly 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG), influences transcriptional regulation, genome stability, and cell fate. Our research seeks to understand how oxidative guanine damage and its repair shape cellular adaptation to oxidative stress and promote cancer-associated and inflammatory gene expression programs. We are particularly interested in how 8-oxoG and the DNA repair pathway involved in processing this lesion influence transcription and chromatin regulation, and how these mechanisms contribute to cancer development and progression.
To address these questions, we apply chemoptogenetic approaches to target reactive oxygen species to specific genomic loci, and molecular and cellular biology techniques to study DNA damage and repair, gene expression, and genome stability, including advanced microscopy and computational and genomic approaches. The goal of the De Rosa Lab is to uncover fundamental mechanisms by which oxidative DNA damage regulates cellular function and to identify new vulnerabilities that can be targeted for cancer prevention and therapy.
Current Lab Members
Dr. De Rosa is actively recruiting. For information on student rotation and postdoc opportunities, please contact Mariarosaria De Rosa at mderosa@unmc.edu
Trainee Outcomes:
Dr. De Rosa brings extensive experience in mentoring and co-mentoring trainees at multiple stages of scientific development, including undergraduate and master’s students, graduate students, and research staff. Her mentorship has supported trainees as they have progressed to careers in both academia and industry, where they continue to contribute to cancer research and the broader biomedical sciences.
- 2019 - 2026 | Postdoctoral Fellow, DNA Repair and Telomere Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 2014 - 2017 | PhD, DNA Repair and Transcription, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
- 2012 - 2013 | MS Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
- 2008 - 2011 | BS Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
Research Areas: DNA Damage and Repair, Cancer Biology, Oxidative Stress, Transcriptional Regulation, Genome Stability.
Techniques and Training: Chemoptogenetic approaches for targeted induction of oxidative DNA damage; molecular and cellular biology; DNA damage and repair assays; fluorescence microscopy; computational analysis of genomic and transcriptomic data.
Interdisciplinary training integrating molecular biology, studies on genome stability, DNA repair, and genomics to investigate mechanisms of oxidative DNA damage-driven transcriptional regulation in cancer.
- OGG1 and MUTYH repair activities promote telomeric 8-oxoguanine induced senescence in human fibroblasts. De Rosa M, Barnes RP, Detwiler AC, et al. Nature Communications 2025; 16, 893. PMID: 39837827
- MUTYH Activity Maintains Telomere Stability in Response to Chronic Telomeric 8-Oxoguanine Damage in Cancer Cells. De Rosa M, Heidenreich TM, Childs L, et al. Biomolecules 2026; 16(9), 1234. DOI: 10.3390/biom16091234
- Telomeric 8-oxo-guanine drives rapid premature senescence in the absence of telomere shortening. Barnes RP, De Rosa M, Thosar SA, et al. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 2022; 29, 639–652. PMID: 35773409
- DNA damage signatures in peripheral blood cells as biomarkers in prodromal Huntington disease. Castaldo I*, De Rosa M*, Romano A*, et al. (*Co-First author); Annals of Neurology 2019; 85(2):296-301. PMID: 30549309
Scientific Appointments:
- 2019 - 2026 | Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- 2026 - Present | Lecturer - Genome Instability and Human Disease Course, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PA, United States
- 2026 - Present | Member, Editorial Board of Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis (EMM)
- 2026 - Present | Active Member in the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
- 2025 - 2025 | Instructor - Course "Introduction to Grant Writing for Postdoctoral Trainees", University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- 2020 - Present | Active Member in the Environmental Mutagenesis & Genomics Society (EMGS)
- 2015 - 2016 | Medical Student Teaching Assistant (Biochemistry), University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Not Applicable, N/A, Italy
Honors & Awards:
- 2023 | Best Poster Award, Sixteenth Postdoctoral Data & Dine Symposium, University of Pittsburgh
- 2022 | New Investigator Travel Award, Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society (EMGS)
- 2022 | Best Poster Presentation Award, 7th US-EU Conference on Endogenous DNA Damage and Repair
- 2016 | Travel grant “International exchanges with foreign Universities and Research Institutes for Short-term mobility of Teachers, Scholars and Researchers”, University of Naples Federico II
- 2015 - 2017 | Graduate Research Fellowship, the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC) Foundation, University of Naples Federico II
Grants:
- 2024 - 2029 | NIH/NIEHS Pathway to Independence Award K99/R00 (4R00ES035871-03) - Investigating roles for oxidative guanine damage in transcription regulation