Rate My Professor Ilaria Elia

Ilaria Elia serves as Assistant Professor Tenure Track and Head of the Laboratory of Metabolic Regulation of Cell Function within the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at KU Leuven. She earned her PhD in Biomedical Sciences in 2017 from KU Leuven at the VIB Center for Cancer Biology, focusing her dissertation on the metabolic requirements of breast cancer cells during metastatic colonization under the supervision of Prof. Sarah-Maria Fendt. Prior to her current role, Elia completed a Master's degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Pisa in 2012, graduating with highest honors (110/110 cum laude). From 2018 to 2021, she conducted postdoctoral research at the Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, under Professors Marcia C. Haigis and Arlene Sharpe, supported by EMBO and Cancer Research Institute fellowships.

Elia's research elucidates metabolic interactions between immune cells and tumor cells in the tumor microenvironment to improve cancer immunotherapy outcomes. Her laboratory investigates nutrient competition affecting T cell infiltration and function, NAD+ metabolism in CD8+ T cells, and reprogramming of exhausted T cells. Seminal contributions include identifying proline metabolism's role in supporting metastasis formation (Elia et al., Nature Communications, 2017), breast cancer cells' reliance on environmental pyruvate to shape the metastatic niche (Elia et al., Nature, 2019), and tumor-induced alterations in pyruvate utilization and succinate signaling that impair CD8+ T cell anti-tumor responses (Elia et al., Cell Metabolism, 2022). Further work demonstrates formate supplementation enhancing CD8+ T cell fitness and PD-1 blockade efficacy (Rowe and Elia et al., Cancer Discovery, 2023). She has co-authored influential reviews, such as on metabolites in the tumor microenvironment (Elia and Haigis, Nature Metabolism, 2021). Recognized with the FEBS Excellence Award, Beug Foundation Metastasis Prize, and a 2025 ERC Starting Grant for spatial heterogeneity of tumor and CD8+ T cell metabolism in liver metastasis, Elia also engages in teaching metabolism courses, program coordination, and journal editing.