CV

Univ. Prof. Dr. Christian Frezza

Academic education

2004 - 2008 PhD in Biosciences, University of Padova, Italy
1997 - 2002 MSc in Medicinal Chemistry, University of Padova, Italy

Scientific degrees

2008 PhD: The role of Opa1 in mitochondria dependent apoptosis, University of Padova, Italy

Scientific career

2022 - present W3 AvH Professor of Metabolomics in ageing University of Cologne, CECAD
2003 - 2004 Research Fellow, Glaucoma Research Foundation USA, Dulbecco-Telethon Institute, Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine, Supervisor Prof. Luca Scorrano
2017 – 2022 Program Leader, MRC Cancer Unit, Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, University of Cambridge
2004 - 2008 PhD fellow, School of Biosciences, program in Neurobiology, University of Padova, Italy, Supervisor Prof. Luca Scorrano
2012 - 2017 Program leader track, MRC Cancer Unit, Hutchison/MRC Research Centre University of Cambridge
2008 - 2012 Post-doctoral scientist, Tumour Metabolism Department, The Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, Glasgow, Supervisor Prof. Eyal Gottlieb

Honors / Awards / Memberships

Editorial Activities
2019 – present Editorial Board Member of Nucleic Acid Research Cancer
2019 Guest Editor of British Journal of Cancer
2019 Guest Editor of Frontiers in Oncology
2017 Guest Editor of Disease Models and Mechanisms
2013 – present Member of the editorial board of Biochemical Journal
2014 – present Assistant editor of Molecular & Cellular Oncology
Awards/Grants
2020 Recipient of the Alexander Von Humboldt Professorship
2019 - 2025 Cancer Research UK Program Foundation Award (CRUK)
2019 - 2024 ERC Consolidator grant (EU)
2016 - 2019 Partner in Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks (EU)
2017 - 2019 DBT-MRC post-doctoral scheme
2016 - 2018 NCBS-inStem-Cambridge post-doctoral scheme
2016 - 2017 Cambridge Cancer Centre Pump Priming Award
2014 - 2017 Worldwide Cancer Research Grant (AICR)
2013 Cambridge Cancer Centre Pump Priming Award
2012 Medical Research Council Centenary Award (MRC)
2008 - 2010 Long Term Fellowship, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
2007 - 2008 2-year fellowship, Associazione Italiana Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC)
Consultancy
2017– present Scientific Adviser, Istesso, London, UK
2017– 2022 Scientific Advisory Board, Owlstone, Cambridge, UK

Contact Information

Univ.-Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Christian Frezza

Professor (W3)

University Hospital Cologne

University of Cologne

CECAD Research Center

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

10 most relevant publications

Mora A, Schmidt C, Balderson B, Frezza C*, Bodén M*. SiRCle (Signature Regulatory Clustering) model integration reveals mechanisms of phenotype regulation in renal cancer. Genome Med. 2024;16(1):144. doi:10.1186/s13073- 024-01415-3 *co-senior authors
Kamp M, Surmacki J, Segarra Mondejar M, Young T, Chrabaszcz K, Joud F, Zecchini V, Speed A, Frezza C*, Bohndiek SE*. Raman micro-spectroscopy reveals the spatial distribution of fumarate in cells and tissues. Nat Commun. 2024;15(1):5386. doi:10.1038/s41467-024-49403-w *co-senior authors
Zecchini V, Paupe V, Herranz-Montoya I, Janssen J, Wortel IMN, Morris JL, Ferguson A, Chowdury SR, Segarra-Mondejar M, Costa ASH, Pereira GC, Tronci L, Young T, Nikitopoulou E, Yang M, Bihary D, Caicci F, Nagashima S, Speed A, Bokea K, Baig Z, Samarajiwa S, Tran M, Mitchell T, Johnson M, Prudent J*, Frezza C*. Fumarate induces vesicular release of mtDNA to drive innate immunity. Nature. 2023;615(7952):499-506. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-05770-w *co-senior authors
Sciacovelli M, Dugourd A, Jimenez LV, Yang M, Nikitopoulou E, Costa ASH, Tronci L, Caraffini V, Rodrigues P, Schmidt C, Ryan DG, Young T, Zecchini VR, Rossi SH, Massie C, Lohoff C, Masid M, Hatzimanikatis V, Kuppe C, von Kriegsheim A, Kramann R, Gnanapragasam V, Warren AY, Stewart GD, Erez A, Vanharanta S, Saez-Rodriguez J*, Frezza C*. Dynamic partitioning of branched-chain amino acids-derived nitrogen supports renal cancer progression. Nat Commun. 2022;13(1):7830. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-35036-4 *co-senior authors
Valcarcel-Jimenez L, Rogerson C, Yong C, Schmidt C, Yang M, Cremades-Rodelgo M, Harle V, Offord V, Wong K, Mora A, Speed A, Caraffini V, Tran MGB, Maher ER, Stewart GD, Vanharanta S, Adams DJ, Frezza C. HIRA loss transforms FH -deficient cells. Sci Adv. 2022;8(42). doi:10.1126/sciadv.abq8297
Gaude E, Schmidt C, Gammage PA, Dugourd A, Blacker T, Chew SP, Saez-Rodriguez J, O’Neill JS, Szabadkai G, Minczuk M, Frezza C. NADH Shuttling Couples Cytosolic Reductive Carboxylation of Glutamine with Glycolysis in Cells with Mitochondrial Dysfunction. Mol Cell. 2018;69(4):581-593.e7. doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2018.01.034
Tyrakis PA, Yurkovich ME, Sciacovelli M, Papachristou EK, Bridges HR, Gaude E, Schreiner A, D’Santos C, Hirst J, Hernandez-Fernaud J, Springett R, Griffiths JR, Frezza C. Fumarate Hydratase Loss Causes Combined Respiratory Chain Defects. Cell Rep. 2017;21(4):1036-1047. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2017.09.092
Sciacovelli M, Gonçalves E, Johnson TI, Zecchini VR, da Costa ASH, Gaude E, Drubbel AV, Theobald SJ, Abbo SR, Tran MGB, Rajeeve V, Cardaci S, Foster S, Yun H, Cutillas P, Warren A, Gnanapragasam V, Gottlieb E, Franze K, Huntly B, Maher ER, Maxwell PH, Saez-Rodriguez J, Frezza C. Fumarate is an epigenetic modifier that elicits epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Nature. 2016;537(7621):544-547. doi:10.1038/nature19353
Chouchani ET, Pell VR, Gaude E, Aksentijević D, Sundier SY, Robb EL, Logan A, Nadtochiy SM, Ord ENJ, Smith AC, Eyassu F, Shirley R, Hu CH, Dare AJ, James AM, Rogatti S, Hartley RC, Eaton S, Costa ASH, Brookes PS, Davidson SM, Duchen MR, Saeb-Parsy K, Shattock MJ, Robinson AJ, Work LM, Frezza C*, Krieg T*, Murphy MP*. Ischaemic accumulation of succinate controls reperfusion injury through mitochondrial ROS. Nature. 2014;515(7527):431-435. doi:10.1038/nature13909 *co-corresponding authors
Frezza C, Zheng L, Folger O, Rajagopalan KN, MacKenzie ED, Jerby L, Micaroni M, Chaneton B, Adam J, Hedley A, Kalna G, Tomlinson IPM, Pollard PJ, Watson DG, Deberardinis RJ, Shlomi T, Ruppin E, Gottlieb E. Haem oxygenase is synthetically lethal with the tumour suppressor fumarate hydratase. Nature. 2011;477(7363):225-228. doi:10.1038/nature10363

CV