Our interviewee is Edoardo Scarpa, an Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan and National Institute of Molecular Genetics (INGM), Milan, Italy. Edoardo received a FEBS Open Bio Best Poster Prize at the EMBO|FEBS Lecture Course "Cell Biology of Host-Pathogen Interactions" (26–30 May 2025), Blois, France.
Tell us about your research topic/work. What project(s) are you working on? What is the aim of your study?
My research investigates how chronic intracellular bacterial infections trigger cellular senescence in host immune cells, and whether targeting this process could offer new therapeutic strategies.
Intracellular pathogens persist within host cells by evading conventional immune clearance, and we wanted to understand the cellular mechanisms that allow this persistence. Using mycobacterial infection as our model, we discovered that infection reprograms macrophages into a senescent state characterised by proliferative arrest, morphological changes, DNA damage response activation, and secretion of inflammatory factors known as the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). We identified DNA damage as the primary driver initiating this senescence program, and found that SASP factors then propagate secondary senescence to neighbouring uninfected cells through paracrine signalling—creating a cascading effect that transforms the tissue microenvironment into a chronic inflammatory niche favouring bacterial persistence and immune evasion.
Building on these mechanistic insights, we tested senolytic drugs—compounds that selectively eliminate senescent cells—and found they significantly reduced bacterial burden comparably to antibiotics. This demonstrates that targeting infected senescent cells represents a novel host-directed therapy that could circumvent the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance. Overall, this work establishes infection-induced senescence as an underappreciated axis in chronic infection pathophysiology and opens new avenues for treating persistent bacterial infections by targeting host cell states rather than the pathogen directly.
Who or what inspired you to choose a career in science?
I have always been driven by a deep curiosity to understand how things work, and biology has always fascinated me because it addresses the most fundamental questions about life itself. There is something truly captivating about exploring how living systems function at the molecular level—how cells communicate, how genetic information is decoded and translated into function, and how organisms maintain themselves in the face of constant challenges.
What particularly draws me to biomedical research is the connection between understanding and fixing. Biology is not just about observing and cataloguing phenomena; it offers the opportunity to uncover mechanisms that, once understood, can be leveraged to address disease and improve human health. The idea that by dissecting a biological process at its most fundamental level you can identify vulnerabilities and develop new therapeutic strategies is incredibly motivating to me.
This combination of intellectual curiosity and the potential for real-world impact is what ultimately shaped my decision to pursue a career in science. Every experiment, even when it fails, contributes to a larger picture, and being part of that collective effort to push the boundaries of what we know and what we can do is deeply rewarding.
How does it feel to receive a FEBS Open Bio Best Poster Prize as recognition for your work? How do you see this Prize influencing your career and future plans?
Receiving this award has been truly unexpected and deeply gratifying. It was the first time I presented this line of research to a community of experts in the field, and I was genuinely amazed by how positively it was received. I believe the novelty of the idea—exploring cellular senescence as a central mechanism in chronic bacterial infections and targeting it therapeutically—was the main factor that contributed to the recognition.
Beyond the honour itself, this award has been incredibly motivating. It has reinforced my conviction that the path I have taken is innovative and scientifically engaging, and most importantly, that it is worth exploring further. When you work on something new, there is always a degree of uncertainty about whether the scientific community will find it relevant or compelling. Having experts recognise the potential of this work has given me confidence that we are asking the right questions and approaching them in a meaningful way.
Looking forward, I see this recognition as both validation and responsibility. It encourages me to continue pushing this research direction, to deepen our mechanistic understanding of infection-induced senescence, and to explore its therapeutic implications across different pathogens and disease contexts. It also opens doors for new collaborations and opportunities to share these ideas with a broader audience, which I believe will be essential for translating our findings into real clinical impact.
What advice would you give to aspiring students/scientists?
Don't be afraid of failing. Failing is part of the process, and I would argue it is one of the most important parts. I firmly believe that negative results do not exist—they are just results, and they are telling us something. It might not be what we wanted or expected, but that information is equally valuable. Science is not about confirming our hypotheses; it is about understanding reality, and sometimes reality pushes back against our assumptions. Those moments, frustrating as they may be, are often where the most interesting discoveries begin.
My advice to aspiring scientists is to embrace uncertainty and remain curious even when experiments do not go as planned. Learn to ask why something did not work rather than simply moving on. Some of the most significant scientific breakthroughs have come from unexpected observations that initially looked like failures. Persistence and resilience are just as important as technical skills and intellectual ability.
I would also encourage young scientists to stay open-minded and not be afraid to explore unconventional ideas. The research that earned me this award came from asking a question that was not mainstream in my field, and it was precisely that novelty that made it compelling. Trust your curiosity, be rigorous in your approach, and remember that every result—positive or negative—is a step forward in understanding.
Where do you envision the future of your career?
I envision my future career continuing along the path I have started—deepening our understanding of cellular senescence in the context of infectious diseases and translating these findings into tangible therapeutic strategies. The work we have done so far has only scratched the surface, and I am eager to explore how broadly these mechanisms apply across different pathogens and clinical contexts.
In the short term, I aim to expand our research to investigate whether infection-induced senescence is a common feature of other chronic bacterial infections beyond mycobacteria, and to better characterise the molecular players involved. Understanding the conserved and pathogen-specific aspects of this process will be crucial for developing targeted interventions. I am also deeply interested in advancing the therapeutic side of this work—refining senolytic approaches and exploring new strategies such as targeted delivery systems that could selectively eliminate infected senescent cells while minimising off-target effects.