Research and Interests

De la Luna’s group interests are mainly directed to defining how gene dosage imbalance caused by alterations of human chromosome 21 (HSA21) can contribute to specific pathological conditions ranging from Down syndrome (caused mostly by the trisomy of HSA21) to cancer (that sometimes involves translocations of HSA21). Her research focuses in particular on the characterization of novel HSA21 genes and their expression profiles, as well as on the identification of signal transduction pathways affected by over-expression of the protein kinase DYRK1A, which maps in the chromosomal region known as DSCR (Down syndrome critical region).