Desantis completed his PhD at the Istituto Oncologico Veneto of Padova, under the leadership of Prof. Vincenzo Bronte, studying macrophages within the tumor microenvironment and their role in immunesuppression and metastasis. In 2015 moved as Research Assistant in the Translational Stem Cell and Leukemia Research Unit of Prof. Bernhard Gentner, at the TIGET Insitute in San Raffaele Hospital (Milano), led by Prof. Luigi Naldini. He stayed there for seven years, working on stem cell expansion and lentiviral gene therapy approaches, also acquiring lab manager skills.

After one last year in the Process Development Lab of the TIGET Institute as Research Assistant and Lab Manager, Desantis moved to the Mucosal Immunology and Microbiota Lab led by Prof. Maria Rescigno, vesting the role of Senior Technician. His role is to support the many research activities of the lab, strong of his experience as PhD, sense of problem solving and team working attitude.