Moreno Colaiacovo

Moreno Colaiacovo
Born in Milan 15/05/1983
Adress: Via Oberdan 115, Cislago (VA) - ITALY
Phone: 0039 347 1212043
Email: moreno.colaiacovo@entecra.it
Work experience:
1st Apr 2009 - ...
Since April 2009 he has been working at the Genomics Research Centre of the italian Agricultural Research
Council (CRA-GPG), in Fiorenzuola d’Arda. He has been involved in the computational analysis of microRNAmRNA
interactions in plant species, and on SNP discovery within the miRNA target site for application in genetical
genomics and advanced breeding.
He developed a bioinformatics pipeline aiming at the prediction of putative microRNAs and their targets, both in
species with no genomic sequence available (wheat, barley) and in species where this information was available
(peach).
In addition he has developed a bioinformatics pipeline for the identification of differentially expressed microRNAs
in next-generation sequencing experiments. This pipeline comprises all the analysis steps: raw data pre-processing,
microRNA identification, data normalization and statistical analysis.
For the PhD thesis he is studying regulatory circuits where microRNAs and transcription factors are involved (feedforward
loops), in the context of the DRUPOMICS project.
In the context of the international project for wheat genome sequencing, he has been involved in the identification
of microRNAs laying on chromosome 5A.
Mar 2008 - Dec 2008 Internship at Genopolis - University of Milano-Bicocca
In the context of the thesis project for his master degree in Bioinformatics he analyzed microarray data, and
developed a pipeline for the prediction of gene regulatory circuits starting from microarray data related to mouse
dendritic cells.
Oct 2005 - Mar 2006 Internship at Plant Biotechnology Lab - University of Insubria Varese
In the context of the thesis project for his bachelor degree in Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis he
applied genetic engineering methods (Agrobacterium tumefaciens, particle bombardment) for the transient
transformation of plant tissues.
Teaching activities:
14 /04/2011 Lesson:
“miRNA identification from next-generation sequencing data”
3rd May 2011

for the course organized by the Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics:
“Bioinformatics applied to agriculture genomics” - Salsomaggiore Terme (PR)
Apr 2009 - … He is involved in the educational activities of the institute teaching lessons
dealing with the use of bioinformatics in agricultural research.
Scientific writing:
May 2010 - … He writes a genomics blog in italian (myGenomix) and writes scientific articles
for Galileo, Wired.it e Tecn’è.
Education:
Jan 2010 - ... PhD student in Complex systems in medicine and life sciences (2nd year)
University of Turin
Sept 2006 - Dec 2008 Master of Science in Bioinformatics
University of Milan-Bicocca
Thesis title: “Analysis of regulatory networks for the definition of inflammatory
phenotype in mouse dendritic cells”
Final mark: 110/110 with honours
Sett 2002 - Mar 2006 Bachelor of Science in Industrial biotechnology and biocatalysis
University of Insubria Varese
Thesis title: “Transformation of peach rootstock GF677 (P.persica x
P.amygdalus) mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens”
Final mark: 109/110
Courses and meetings:
13-24 Jun 2011 Enrolled for the Summer School in:
“Complex Physical, Biological and Social Systems”
“Computer Programming and Complex Systems”
“Complex Systems Modelling and Networks”
NECSI Institute, MIT (Boston, USA)
20-24 Sept 2010 VI International School on “Biology, Computation and Information” -
Dobbiaco (BZ)
3rd May 2011

16-19 Sett 2009 53rd Annual Congress of the Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics - Turin
Computer skills:
Operative systems (Windows, Linux).
Software and online resources for bioinformatic analyses (NCBI, Blast), functional characterization of
gene sets (David, AgriGO), network analysis (Copasi, Cytoscape), transcriptional regulation analysis
(Transfac) and tools for the prediction of microRNAs and their targets (mFold, microPC).
Scripting and software use for data analysis in next-generation sequencing experiments, both on
workstation and parallel cluster.
Programming languages (Perl, R).
Software and languages for webdesign (Dreamweaver, Drupal, Html).
Languages:
Italian (Mother tongue), English (Very good), French (Basics).
Publications:
COLAIACOVO M., SUBACCHI A., BAGNARESI P., LAMONTANARA A., CATTIVELLI L., FACCIOLI P.
“A computational-based update on microRNAs and their targets in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).”
BMC Genomics 2010, 11:595.
VITULO N., ALBIERO A., FORCATO C., CAMPAGNA D., DAL PERO F., BAGNARESI P., COLAIACOVO M.,
FACCIOLI P., LAMONTANARA A., SIMKOVA H., KUBALAKOVA M., PERROTTA G., FACELLA P., LOPEZ L.,
PIETRELLA M., GIANESE G., DOLEZEL J., GIULIANO G., CATTIVELLI L., VALLE G., STANCA A.M.
“First Survey of the Wheat Chromosome 5A Composition through a Next Generation Sequencing
Approach”
BMC Genomics (submitted).
COLAIACOVO M., ALBERICI R., CATTIVELLI L., FACCIOLI P.
“In silico survey of exonic microRNAs in wheat highlights miR1118 and miR1125-coding sequences as
hosted by subfamily2 calmodulin genes.”
3rd May 2011

Functional and Integrative Genomics (submitted).
Oral communications:
Vitulo N., Albiero A., Forcato C., Campagna D., Dal Pero F., Cattivelli L., Bagnaresi P., Colaiacovo M., Faccioli P.,
Lamontanara A., Simkova H., Dolezel J., Perrotta G., Facella P., Lopez L., Pietrella M., Gianese G., Giuliano G., Valle
G., Stanca M. “A first survey of the wheat chromosome 5A composition through a next-generation sequencing
approach” 54th SIGA Annual Congress, Matera 27-30th September 2010.
Posters:
Lacrima K., Barabaschi D., Orrù L., Martini A., Volante A., Desiderio F., Faccioli P., Bagnaresi P., Colaiacovo M.,
Francia E., Fricano A., Dolezel J., Kilian A., Blanco A., Valè G., Cattivelli L., Stanca A.M. “Development of bread
wheat chromosome 5A-specific molecular markers” 54th SIGA Annual Congress, Matera 27-30th September 2010.
Colaiacovo M., Spini M., Alberici R., Subacchi A., Crosatti C., Cattivelli L., Faccioli P. “MicroRNA-based gene
regulation in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.): identification of functional polymorphisms at target sites” 54th SIGA
Annual Congress, Matera 27-30th September 2010.
Vitulo N., Albiero A., Forcato C., Campagna D., Dal Pero F., Cattivelli L., Bagnaresi P., Colaiacovo M., Faccioli P.,
Lamontanara A., Simkova H., Dolezel J., Lucretti S., Perrotta G., Giuliano G., Valle G., Stanca A.M. “A first survey
of the wheat chromosome 5A composition through a next-generation sequencing approach” 14th International
Biotechnology Symposium and Exhibition IBS 2010, Rimini 14-18th September 2010.
Barabaschi D., Orru’ L., Lacrima K., Faccioli P., Colaiacovo M., Bagnaresi P., Simkova H., Dolezel J., Kilian A., Francia
E., Fricano A., Blanco A., Valé G., Cattivelli L., Stanca A.M. “On the road to a high density genetic linkage map
of wheat chromosome 5A” 14th International Biotechnology Symposium and Exhibition IBS 2010, Rimini 14-18
Settembre 2010.
Lamontanara A., Vitulo N., Albiero A., Forcato C., Campagna D., Dal Pero F., Cattivelli L., Bagnaresi P., Colaiacovo
M., Faccioli P., Simkova H, Dolezel J. (6), Perrotta G., Giuliano G., Valle G., Stanca M. “The repetitive landscape of
Wheat Chromosome 5A. A preliminary study based on low-coverage NGS technologies” 7th BITS Annual Meeting,
Bari 14-16th April 2010.
Faccioli P., Colaiacovo M. “Mining microRNA expression data in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)” Plant and Animal
Genomes XVIII Conference, San Diego (USA) 9-13 January 2010.
Vitulo N., Albiero A., Forcato C., Campagna D., Dal Pero F., Cattivelli L., Bagnaresi P., Colaiacovo M., Faccioli P.,
Lamontanara A., Simkova H., Dolezel J., Lucretti S., Perrotta G., Giuliano G., Valle G., Stanca A.M. “A first survey
of the wheat chromosome 5A composition through a next-generation sequencing approach” Plant and Animal
Genomes XVIII Conference, San Diego (USA) 9-13th January2010.
Barabaschi D., Faccioli P., Colaiacovo M., Orrù L., Bagnaresi P., Simkova H., Dolezel J., Kilian A., Francia E., Fricano
3rd May 2011

A., Blanco A., Valè G., Cattivelli L., Stanca A.M. “On the road to a high density genetic linkage map of wheat
chromosome 5A” Plant and Animal Genomes XVIII Conference, San Diego (USA) 9-13th January 2010.
Colaiacovo M., Bagnaresi P., Terzi V., Morcia C., Alberici R., Spini M., Faccioli P. “An example of effective
integration between functional and structural genomics for the characterization of “miRNA/target” interactions.”
53rd SIGA Annual Congress, Turin 16-19th September 2009.
Barabaschi D., Faccioli P., Colaiacovo M., Orrù L., Simkova H., Dolezel J., Kilian A., Francia E., Fricano A., Lafiandra
D., Blanco A., Lucretti S., Valè G., Cattivelli L., Stanca A.M. “Towards the construction of a high density genetic
linkage map of wheat chromosome 5A.” 53rd SIGA Annual Congress, Turin 16-19th September 2009.
Spini M., Morcia C., Colaiacovo M., Tudisco R., Infascelli F., Terzi V. “In silico/wet approach to identify reference
genes for expression analysis in water buffalo.” 53rd SIGA Annual Congress, Turin 16-19th September 2009.
3rd May 2011