Letizia Spitti holds a master’s degree in molecular biology awarded by the University of Padova in Italy, her home country. She entered cancer research through her master’s thesis work on breast cancer metastatic dormancy, studying how mechanical forces coming from the tumour microenvironment impact cancer cells behaviour.

Driven by the desire to remain in the field of cancer biology and determined to approach the disease by integrating the role of tumour stroma into the equation, she pursued a PhD at the Institute of Tissue Medicine and Pathology (ITMP) at the University of Bern, under the supervision of Dr. Hannah Williams and Prof. Dr. Mario Tschan.

The aim of her PhD project is to define how autophagy in cancer‑associated fibroblasts modulates desmoplastic remodelling in colorectal cancer, with a focus on how these cells reshape the extracellular matrix, influence tumour progression and therapy response.

Outside the lab, Letizia is passionate about tennis and plays for the university tennis team in Bern. She also volunteers for the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC).