Meet Alessia Zotta, a postdoctoral researcher whose FEBS Short-Term Fellowship took her from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, to KU Leuven, Belgium. What began as an opportunity to explore a new research environment became an important step in her scientific career, helping her develop new skills in cancer biology and opening the door to further research opportunities.
What motivated you to apply for this fellowship?
I decided to apply for a FEBS Short-Term Fellowship after completing my PhD at Trinity College Dublin (Ireland). I was looking for another position and wanted to experience a different academic environment in Europe.
I knew that moving to another laboratory with the support of a fellowship covering my stay would be a valuable opportunity to strengthen my CV and demonstrate my motivation to conduct research independently.
As a member of SIB (the Italian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), I had also been reading about fellowship opportunities and the experiences of researchers who had spent time abroad. For all these reasons, I decided to prepare a proposal together with my host laboratory.
What was the main scientific goal of your stay? What new skills, techniques or knowledge did you gain?
After completing a PhD focused on immunometabolism and aspects of cancer immunology, I wanted to gain more expertise in cancer immunology.
During my research stay in the Lab of Tumor Inflammation and Angiogenesis, I became more familiar with the concepts of the tumor microenvironment, resistance to immunotherapy and the pre-metastatic niche.
I improved my skills in in vivo experiments, including murine primary tumor and metastatic models, and gained further insights into multicolor immunophenotyping of tumors through flow cytometry. I also began performing tumor and immune cell co-cultures for the first time.
What was the most rewarding or memorable moment?
I spent many weeks practising how to perform cancer cell injections to establish an experimental model of liver metastasis.
After several unsuccessful attempts in the laboratory, I finally managed to make it work!
I remember feeling incredibly satisfied at that moment. It reminded me that hard work and perseverance can eventually pay off.
What was the most challenging moment during your stay?
The most challenging moment came at the beginning of my stay. I had moved alone to a new country without knowing anyone, and I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy my time there.
When I started working in the new laboratory, it also took me some time to get to know the other team members and adapt to a scientific environment that was different from the one I had previously experienced.
How did this experience influence you personally, beyond science?
This experience helped me become more independent in my daily life, from moving to a new country and finding a place to live to making new friends and organising my life outside the laboratory.
I also learnt how to adapt better to a new environment, understand my own limits and recognise when I could challenge myself to go further.
How has this experience influenced you professionally, and has it shaped your future plans in any way?
I really enjoyed my stay in the host laboratory, and the experience strengthened my passion for cancer biology, particularly the communication between cancer cells and the immune system.
After discussing my future with the principal investigator, I decided to remain in the host laboratory as a postdoctoral researcher and continue my academic career.
A few months ago, I was awarded a four-year postdoctoral fellowship to pursue my research on the liver pre-metastatic niche.
What would you say to someone considering applying for a FEBS Short-Term Fellowship?
I strongly recommend applying for a FEBS Short-Term Fellowship. It can offer a fantastic opportunity to experience how research is conducted in laboratories across Europe, develop your scientific network and advance your future career.
Above all, it gives you the chance to learn new techniques that you may not have had the opportunity to explore in your previous laboratory.
Could your research journey be next?
FEBS Short-Term Fellowships support researchers looking to gain new skills, explore different techniques and build scientific collaborations abroad.
Applications for the first 2027 call are open until 10 December 2026, for research visits taking place between March 2027 and February 2028.