Cecilia Valvo is an experienced pharmaceutical biotechnologist with a PhD in Cellular, Molecular and Industrial Biology (University of Bologna 2010). She has a solid knowledge in cancer therapy and antibody discovery gained working both in academia and applied research environment as National Institute of Health (Rome), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Rome), LifeArc (formally MRCT, Stevenage, UK).
During her academic carrier she studied novel monoclonal antibodies, and their relative targets, as biomarkers and therapeutics for solid tumors. Cecilia was involved in different phases of antibodies development from generation, screening and characterization, to preclinical validation. Her work resulted in a collaboration with LifeArc to support the development of a monoclonal antibody-drug conjugated as targeted therapy for colorectal cancer. In 2018 Cecilia moved to the UK, where she joined the Biotherapeutic Group at LifeArc as visiting scientist. She was involved in monoclonal antibody humanization and functional validation.
Cecilia joined Checkmab team as cellular and molecular biologist to support mission and objectives of the company. She is responsible for the production, characterization and validation of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.