My name is Francesco Di Matteo, I am 27 years old and I am from
Naples, Italy. I studied Biology at the University of Naples “Federico II” where
I took my bachelor and Master degrees with an internship, during my master, at
the Institute of Genetic and Biophysic (IGB-CNR), Naples, in the group of Dr.
Gabriella Minchiotti. There, I worked on a project focused on the role of an
ultra-conserved elements (UCE) containing a long-non coding RNA, named uc.170,
in the balance between self-renewal and commitment of mouse embryonic stem
cells. After my graduation I was not sure about my future, I did not know if I
wanted to start a PhD or to apply for positions in companies because of the very
precarious economic situation there was, and there is in Italy. So, before
making any choice, I decided to try an experience abroad to test my own attitude
and my will in pursuing into the scientific research field. I did an Erasmus
internship, under the supervision of Prof. Rossella Di Giaimo (Department of
Biology, University of Naples), at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in
Munich, joining the group of Dr. Silvia Cappello. I investigated the role of
Cystatin B, a protein involved in a rare neurogenic disease, progressive
myoclonic epilepsy type 1 (EPM1). Specifically I participated at the study on
the function of cystatin b at the early stages of cerebral development by using
patients-derived cerebral organoids as a model system.
I still remember how I
felt just before I left Napoli to start my experience in Munich, a mixture of
fear and euphoria! I was afraid because I knew that I had to interact with
people in English, but my knowledge of the language was really basic, so I took
private English lessons in order to improve it. It was still not enough, but a
good start! At the same time I was excited and happy because I had never had a
working experience abroad. In the first days I was very silent, I was afraid of
making a mistake in speaking, but then I started interacting with roommates and
colleagues and my level of English increased a lot! I remember when I had to
make my first journal club in English! How much stress! And how difficult it was
to understand the details of every questions, but everybody was friendly and
supportive and I managed to overcome my first trial! But the most important
thing for me was that this experience helped me to realize that I really like
doing research studies and especially the investigation of neurodevelopmental
diseases by using human cerebral organoids as a model system. Could you imagine
to recapitulate some of the human brain developmental features with a 3D cell
culture in a dish? For me it was fantastic!
Then, I started to apply for PhD
positions both in Italy and abroad and I was accepted at the International Max
Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry (IMPRS-TP) where I started
my PhD in the group of Silvia Cappello. I had the possibility to complete the
project I started during the internship under the supervision of Silvia Cappello
and Rossella Di Giaimo, and with my great pleasure we published the paper on
cystatin B in 2020 on the EMBO molecular medicine journal. It was my first
manuscript as first author, it was a unique emotion! I reached my first goal
after many many efforts! We also got the journal cover with one of the image of
organoids-derived neurons I personally took during my Erasmus. In that moment I
forgot all the times the experiments did not work, the evenings spent doing
analyses, the entire days correcting all the figures, the fight against the
deadlines.
Currently, I have just started the 2nd year of my PhD and I am still
as enthusiastic as the first day and I hope it can always be like that, because
I think that enthusiasm is the only thing that can break down the frustration of
negative periods and allows you to never give up and to reach great results!
In
the end, I learned that whenever I’m facing a new step in my life and especially
in my job as scientist, I have to follow these basic rules:
- Take my time to
decide
- Do not choose something I do not really like, just because I’m scared
about my future
- Great results can be achieved with perseverance, constancy and
passion!
