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Cinzia Sevignani

Profile Picture of Cinzia Sevignani

Cinzia Sevignani

  • College of Science and Technology

    • Biology

      • Assistant Professor of Instruction

Biography

I believe in Education as a mission in our society. The objective is not only having students to learn the content of each course, but also helping them to develop life-long learning skills and critical thinking. These are very important qualities to prepare students for their future professions and to become the best possible human beings who are involved in the progress of our society. In today’s world educators can no longer be just dispensers of knowledge. Educators should, of course have knowledge and skills, but also possess other very important qualities such as being an adviser, an encourager, a stimulator, a mentor, a resource, a researcher and a patient person. I believe that these are some of the qualities needed to become an outstanding educator.
Educators are no longer just “Sage on the stage”. They should be sensitive to the needs and interests of students, and to the demands of the work market. Educators should be able to communicate effectively with their students in order to share experiences with the goal of continuously improving their pedagogical approaches.
I always try to meet my students’ needs regardless of their previous knowledge, background and learning abilities. I often receive new ideas from my students’ feedback and comments, which means that the more I teach the more I learn. It is a life-long process. I always keep in mind that a good educator should also inspire students in their future professions and in their everyday life as young adults ready to make their contribution for the best possible future of our society.
The teaching materials should always be presented in a variety of ways. The three principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which borrowed the term of universal design from architects and designers, illustrates the importance of presenting class materials in multiple ways to promote accessibility and engagement at different levels in order to tap into learners’ interests in an appropriate manner, so it will motivate students to learn and ultimately to became self-learners. I believe that a small percentage of students are motivated no matter what, but for the majority of the students there are other ways to improve motivation and open doors on professional opportunities that they would have ever thought before. I think that the learning process in adults can be made more effective, if new material can retrieve previous background knowledge and if life experiences can be related to the abstract concepts of a lecture.

Courses Taught

Number

Name

Level

BIOL 2296

Genetics

Undergraduate

BIOL 3096

Cell Structure and Function

Undergraduate

Selected Publications

Featured

  • Rossi, S., Sevignani, C., Nnadi, S., Siracusa, L., & Calin, G. (2008). Cancer-associated genomic regions (CAGRs) and noncoding RNAs: Bioinformatics and therapeutic implications. Mammalian Genome, 19(7-8), 526-540. doi: 10.1007/s00335-008-9119-8.

  • Sevignani, C., Calin, G., Nnadi, S., Shimizu, M., Davuluri, R., Hyslop, T., Demant, P., Croce, C., & Siracusa, L. (2007). MicroRNA genes are frequently located near mouse cancer susceptibility loci. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104(19), 8017-8022. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0702177104.

  • Sevignani, C., Calin, G., Siracusa, L., & Croce, C. (2006). Mammalian microRNAs: A small world for fine-tuning gene expression. Mammalian Genome, 17(3), 189-202. doi: 10.1007/s00335-005-0066-3.

  • Liu, C., Calin, G., Meloon, B., Gamliel, N., Sevignani, C., Ferracin, M., Dumitru, C., Shimizu, M., Zupo, S., Dono, M., Alder, H., Bullrich, F., Negrini, M., & Croce, C. (2004). An oligonucleotide microchip for genome-wide microRNA profiling in human and mouse tissues. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 101(26), 9740-9744. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0403293101.

  • Thomas-Tikhonenko, A., Viard-Leveugle, I., Dews, M., Wehrli, P., Sevignani, C., Yu, D., Ricci, S., El-Deiry, W., Aronow, B., Kaya, G., Saurat, J., & French, L. (2004). Myc-Transformed Epithelial Cells Down-Regulate Clusterin, Which Inhibits Their Growth in Vitro and Carcinogenesis in Vivo. Cancer Research, 64(9), 3126-3136. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-03-1953.

  • Calin, G., Sevignani, C., Dumitru, C., Hyslop, T., Noch, E., Yendamuri, S., Shimizu, M., Rattan, S., Bullrich, F., Negrini, M., & Croce, C. (2004). Human microRNA genes are frequently located at fragile sites and genomic regions involved in cancers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 101(9), 2999-3004. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0307323101.

  • Baffa, R., Sevignani, C., Ishii, H., Vecchione, A., Gomella, L., & Croce, C. FEZ1-deficient mice are more susceptible to BBN carcinogenesis. JOURNAL OF UROLOGY, 169(4), 192-192. Retrieved from http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000181721400740&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=abcd71df5a6dac31fd219478b0a9c638.

  • Sevignani, C., Calin, G., Cesari, R., Sarti, M., Ishii, H., Yendamuri, S., Vecchione, A., Trapasso, F., & Croce, C. (2003). Restoration of fragile histidine triad (FHIT) expression induces apoptosis and suppresses tumorigenicity in breast cancer cell lines. Cancer Research, 63(6), 1183-1187.

  • Hunter, C., Yu, D., Gee, M., Ngo, C., Sevignani, C., Goldschmidt, M., Golovkina, T., Evans, S., Lee, W., & Thomas-Tikhonenko, A. (2001). Cutting edge: Systemic inhibition of angiogenesis underlies resistance to tumors during acute toxoplasmosis. Journal of Immunology, 166(10), 5878-5881. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.166.10.5878.

  • Janz, A., Sevignani, C., Kenyon, K., Ngo, C., & Thomas-Tikhonenko, A. (2000). Activation of the Myc oncoprotein leads to increased turnover of thrombospondin-1 mRNA. Nucleic Acids Research, 28(11), 2268-2275. doi: 10.1093/nar/28.11.2268.

  • Sevignani, C., Cranston, A., Iozzo, R., Fishel, R., & Calabretta, B. (1999). Spontaneous and mutagen-induced transformation of primary cultures of Msh2-/- p53-/- colonocytes. Cancer Research, 59(23), 5882-5886.

  • Sevignani, C., Wlodarski, P., Kirillova, J., Mercer, W., Danielson, K., Iozzo, R., & Calabretta, B. (1998). Tumorigenic conversion of p53-deficient colon epithelial cells by an activated Ki-ras gene. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 101(8), 1572-1580. doi: 10.1172/JCI919.

  • Pincelli, C., Sevignani, C., Manfredini, R., Grande, A., Fantini, F., Bracci-Laudiero, L., Aloe, L., Ferrari, S., Cossarizza, A., & Giannetti, A. (1994). Expression and function of nerve growth factor and nerve growth factor receptor on cultured keratinocytes. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 103(1), 13-18. doi: 10.1111/1523-1747.ep12388914.

  • Fantini, F., Baraldi, A., Sevignani, C., Spattini, A., Pincelli, C., & Giannetti, A. (1992). Cutaneous innervation in chronic renal failure patients. An immunohistochemical study. Acta Dermato-Venereologica, 72(2), 102-105.

  • Fantini, F., Pincelli, C., Sevignani, C., Baraldi, A., & Giannetti, A. (1991). Langerhans cells can express neuron-specific enolase immunoreactivity. Archives of Dermatological Research, 283(1), 10-12. doi: 10.1007/BF01207243.

  • Rivasi, F., Aloysio, G.D., Fano, R., Boselli, F., & Sevignani, C. (1990). Use of avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) technique for the localization of human papillomavirus antigens on semithin sections from cytologic samples embedded for electron microscopy. Cervix and the Lower Female Genital Tract, 8(3), 349-354.