The 2022 European Congress on Alternatives to Animal Testing (EUSAAT) took place at the University of Linz in Austria on 26-28 September 2022.
The In2Sight desk at EUSAAT 2022
In2Sight had an exhibition desk and represented by:
Prof. Giuseppe Chirico from Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca
Dr. Maria Kitsara from PRAXI Network / Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH)
Dr. Javier Martínez de Velasco from ASPHALION
Our partners had the opportunity to discuss with the EUSAAT community, while Prof. Chirico gave an oral talk on “An in-vivo engineered #chip as a smart intravital multiphoton imaging window for new validation protocols of biomaterials”.
Giulio Cerullo is a Full Professor with the Physics Department, Politecnico di Milano, where he is leading the ultrafast optics and spectroscopy group.
Prof. Cerullo’s research activity covers a broad area known as “Ultrafast Optical Science”, and concerns on the one hand pushing our capabilities to generate and manipulate ultrashort light pulses, and on the other hand using such pulses to capture the dynamics of ultrafast events in molecular and solid-state systems.
He is the recipient of a 2011 ERC Advanced Grant (project STRATUS).
His role in the project will be: Scientific coordination of the ultrafast laser setup and non-linear polymerization experiments.
Manuela Raimondi is full professor of Bioengineering at Politecnico di Milano since 2009.
She and her group develop frontier tools for research in biology, such as nanoengineered stem cell niches, microfluidic bioreactors and miniaturised windows for imaging in vivo.
She has been recipient, among others, of an ERC grant and is founder of a start-up bio-engineering company.
Her role in the project will be: coordination of the bioengineering team; scientific supervision of the work concerning device design and development, validation in vitro and in vivo on chicken embryos.
Núria holds a PhD in Pharmacy and a long academic research experience. Broad scientific background in the area of microbiology and pharmacy and 10+ years as Regulatory Affairs Director in Asphalion.
Nuria is a specialist in the regulatory field for Biological, Biotechnological, and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products having managed and conducted successful Scientific Advice Procedures, IMPDs, CTAs, as well as collaboration in compilation of Centralised Procedure Applications.
Great experience in Regulatory procedures during development, medical and CMC scientific writing including ATMPs and Biologicals, technical writing for registration dossiers, IMPDs, IBs, CTAs, FDA procedures and Pharmacovigilance
Francesca Granucci (PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology in 1996) is currently full professor of Immunology and General Pathology at the Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca and chief of the Innate Immunity lab at INGM, National Institute of Molecular Genetics.
In 2012 she obtained the EFIS-EJI Ita Askonas prize as best female group leader in immunology and in 2019 the IUBMB Jubilee Lecturer medal. Her role in the project will be: implant protocols for the IN2SIGHT chip and mice breed bearing multiple fluorescent immune cells.
Giuseppe Chirico graduated in Physics, PhD in Biophysics, is full professor of Applied Physics, at the Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Dep. of Physics. GC is the PI of the Laboratory for Advanced Bio-Spectroscopy (LABS) financed by the Università di Milano-Bicocca. His scientific background is in photon- and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, single molecule fluorescence spectroscopy for biomolecules characterization in vitro and fluorescence two-photon excitation and second harmonic generation microscopy applied to in-vivo imaging of tissues. G.C., then at the Università degli studi di Genova (Genoa, I), developed and run the first facility for non-linear excitation microscopy in Italy from 1996 to 1999. G.C. has previously spent research periods as postdoc or visiting researcher at the EMBL Grenoble outstation (1990), at the DKFZ in Heidelberg (1995) and at the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics (Urbana-Champaign, IL, in 1996). He has been recently appointed by the Italian Ministry of Research and Technology as member of the committee for the national habilitation in Applied Physics. GC is member of SPIE (International Society for Optics and Photonics Engineering), the Italian Society for Pure and Applied Biophysics and the Italian Physics Society, editor of PLOSONE, of Biomedical engineering Online, author/co-author of more than 160 publications on scientific journals: H factor = 29, total citations 2800.
His role in the project will be: coordination and management; development of the scanning system and adaptive optics protocols; imaging of labeled cells in the IN2SIGHT; fluidodynamic studies in the nude chip implanted in the micro – fluidic device
DVM, PhD, is an experimental pathologist with 30 years of experience in vascular biology research. HGA head the Joint Research Division Vascular Biology within the DKFZ-ZMBH-Alliance and Heidelberg University (Mannheim Campus).
He is leading a multidisciplinary research group exploring vascular biology from different perspectives, including angiogenesis and vascular differentiation, tumor progression and metastasis as well as vascular signaling and developmental vascular biology.
He has done pioneering work in the establishment of novel endothelial cell differentiation and angiogenesis assays which will significantly contribute to In2SIght.
Prof. Uri Nevo is chairman of the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) in Tel Aviv University. Prof. Nevo did all his academic degrees in the School of Physics and Astronomy in Tel Aviv University. He served as a Fulbright fellow performing his postdoctoral research in the NIH, in Bethesda, MD. Prof Nevo joined the Department of BME in TAU as a faculty member in 2009.
Prof. Nevo’s research deals with problems in neuroscience and immunology, by the use of experiments and theoretical methods in biophysics and modelling. Primary academic achievements include the development of the theory of Ecoimmunity that proposes a unique approach to the tissue-immune interaction, and the pioneering work on biomedical applications with portable MRI systems.
In 2010, Prof. Nevo co-founded & served as the first academic director of the President Peres' program for nurturing Israel's future scientists and inventors (now titled Odyssey) in Tel-Aviv University (later replicated to the other universities in Israel). In 2015 he founded Lifegraph: a company that leads a technology for behavioral monitoring using passive sensing.
Nikolaos Kehagias (first time in FET) is co-founder and chief technical officer of Nanotypos.
Dr. Kehagias obtained his Bachelor's degree in Physics from the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece. He continued his studies in Essex University (UK) where he got his Masterb's degree in Physics of laser communications in 2003. He obtained his Ph.D. from the Tyndall National Institute/ University Colleague of Cork (Ireland) in 2007 and has more than 15-years experience in advanced nano-manufacturing techniques.
Dr. Kehagias has pioneered and developed several imprinted based lithography techniques and he is author and co-author in more than 45 journal publications, has been an invited speaker in 7 summer schools and have given 15 lectures on nanofabrication and applications, participated in more than 130 international and national conferences and contributed his work to 2 book chapters. he is inventor in 2 patents.
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Maria Farsari
She is a Research Director at FORTH/IESL and the leader of the NLL group. Her research activities focus on laser-matter interactions and ultra-fast laser materials processing. The NLL group has extensive experience in the development of photopolymers and their 2D and 3D micro- and nanoprocessing using lasers. They are particularly active in the field of multiphoton polymerization, where they are one of the world leaders in the synthesis, processing and characterization of 3D micro-and nanostructures for applications in photonics, metamaterials and biomedicine. Dr. Farsari has participated in many FP6, FP7 & H2020 European research projects, and national projects also. Her group consists of two post-doctoral research scientist, four PhD students, three MSc students and two undergraduates. She has published 90 papers in refereed journals; she has received over 4200 citations (Google Scholar). Her h-index is 37.
Emanuela Jacchetti completed her Master Degree and Ph.D. in Physics at “Università degli Studi” in Milan.
She worked as Researcher in several Institutes and Centers of Excellence until 2015, when she arrived at Politecnico di Milano, where she currently is Assistant Professor.
Emanuela has a strong experience in the field of cell scaffold, mechanobiology, and fluorescence microscopy.
Her main interests are cell mechanics and nuclear mechanotransduction, governing cellular functions and tissue regeneration.
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Claudio Conci
Claudio Conci obtained his M.Sc. in biomedical engineering in 2017 at Politecnico di Milano, Italy.
Here, he is currently attending a PhD program in bioengineering in collaboration with Prof. Roberto Osellame’s group at the IFN-CNR in Milano and Prof. Giberto Chirico’s group at Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca.
His research focuses on nonlinear microscopy techniques applied in intravital conditions and on the development of implantable miniaturised imaging windows fabricated by two photon laser polymerization.
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Maddalena Collini
Maddalena Collini graduated in Physics, PhD in Biophysics, is full professor of Applied Physics, University of Milano Bicocca, Dep. of Physics and Course Director of the Bachelor and the Master degree in physics and Astrophysics at the University of Milano Bicocca. MC is the PI of the Super-resolution microscope financed in 2011 by the Università di Milano-Bicocca. Scientific background in time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy techniques applied to the study of biosystems of different complexity. MC has a long experience in the application of fluorescence polarization anisotropy decay for detecting molecular diffusive motions in DNA or proteins. MC deeply applied fluorescence correlation spectroscopy in the photophysics characterizations of GFP mutants. MC has also applied fluorescence spectroscopy to study signaling or interactions in cells either employing FRET probes or calcium imaging. A parallel field of research also is devoted to characterize optical properties of nanoparticles and their cellular uptake exploiting their luminescence by nonlinear excitation. Since 2011, MC has been the PI of the super-resolution microscope based in STED (excited emission depletion ) technology that reaches image resolution of 60 nm as tested on single fluorescent molecules. Concerning the in vivo measurements, MC performs hemodynamics studies on model animal systems (Zebrafish embryos) in order to develop protocols of image analysis to be used in more complex systems. MC is member of American Biophysical Society and the Italian Society for Pure and Applied Biophysics, editor of PLOSONE, in the review panel of Current Medicinal Chemistry, author/co-author of more than 90 publications on scientific journals: H factor = 20, total citations 1677.
Avner Priel holds a PhD in Physics (complex systems) and is currently managing the “Cell Studio” project for inSilico agent-based modeling of immune response. His scientific background is in theoretical and experimental biophysics of the neuronal cytoskeleton, as well as neural computation. In parallel, he pursued extensive corporate experience in leading groups of researchers in the area of machine learning and A.I. applications to various industrial problems. A.P. has been a research associate in the department of Physics, University of Alberta, Canada, and the faculty of life-sciences in Bar-Ilan university, Israel. He is the author/co-author of more than 30 publications in scientific journals, book chapters and original manuscript titled Nanoneuroscience: Structural and Functional Roles of the Neuronal Cytoskeleton in Health and Disease, Springer-Verlag (2010), Nancy J. Woolf, Avner Priel and Jack A. Tuszynski.
first time FET participant. Pharmacist. Specialist postgraduate degree qualification in Industrial Pharmacy and Galenic Formulation with a Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in Biopharmacy, Pharmacology and Drug Quality. Specialist in drug development and in drug product development activities of new chemical drugs and biologics (including biosimilars and ATMPs). She has been for 4 years Vice-Director for Research and Development and 15 years as General Manager of Regulatory Affairs at ASPHALION. Responsible for the overall Quality of the Regulatory services of Asphalion. Experience in scientific medical writing of regulatory documents for CTAs, Scientific Advice Procedures, Orphan Drug Designations (EU and FDA).
first time FET participant. Pharmacist and Specialist postgraduate degree qualification in Industrial Pharmacy and Galenic Formulation, with a Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in Biopharmacy, Pharmacology and Drug Quality. He has 7 years of experience as R+D Project Manager at Spanish biotechnology company focused on the development of drug candidates and 2 years CMC Regulatory Affairs Specialist in drug development and in drug product development activities of new chemical drugs, biologics (including biosimilars and ATMPs) and nanodrugs. Marta ha experience in scientific medical writing of regulatory documents for CTAs, Scientific Advice Procedures, Orphan Drug Designations (EU and FDA), and clinical documentation (IMPD/IB).
first time FET participant Chrstopher holds a PhD in Biomedicine and a long academic research experience in gene therapy, regeneration and muscular dystrophy, diabetes. He has published numerous original research papers and review articles in peer reviewed journals. Expert in medical and scientific writing for Biosimilars, Innovative, Biological, Biotechnological, and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products, including gene and somatic cell therapies. Currently working in medical writing for Paediatric Investigation Plans, Scientific Advice/Pre-IND meetings and Centralized Procedures. Experience in Biosimilars CP writing Clinical and Pre-Clinical. Worldwide experience in Biosimilars Gap Analysis and writing. Expert in medical and CMC scientific writing for Innovative, Biological, Biotechnological, and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products, including gene and somatic cell therapies.
first time FET participant. Thomas holds Master’s degree in Cybernetics from the Technical University of Munich. He belongs to numerous international associations including the International Society for Clinical Biostatistics and the Society for Clinical Trials and has written and collaborated on over 100 publications focusing on the pharmaceutical and clinical trial statistics. Thomas provides pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies with statistical methodology advice pertaining to trial design, conduct and reporting including regulatory submission. He has presented statistical findings to the European Medicines Agency on numerous occasions. Thomas has been working in the clinical trial environment since 1980 in project team management and statistical analysis. He specializes in statistical analysis and reporting with particular expertise in Adaptive Trial Design, Meta-Analysis and Non-Inferiority Trials. Prior to joining CROS NT, Thomas was an independent statistical consultant and ran his own biometrics consulting CRO in Germany for over 20 years. During this time, he gained a considerable amount of experience in Dermatology, Respiratory and Oncology studies. With regards to oncology studies, Thomas is an expert on both the complexities of early phase trial design and flexible designs of late phase studies such as the implementation of adaptive trial design. He has published articles and conducted courses and webinars on statistical considerations in oncology trials.
Costas is co-founder and Managing director of Nanotypos. He has a 20-year experience is management, marketing
and commercialization as he has been CEO of two Design & Communication companies.
Mr. Costas Kehagias is responsible for all managing, administrative and public outreach activities.
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Theodoros Tachtsidis
First time participating in FET.
Physicist, obtained his Bachelor’s degree from the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Since 2015 he is working as a research assistant engineer within Nanotypos while his work focuses
on the development of security printing and functional surfaces by imprint-based processes
(batch-to-batch and roll-to-roll) for tailored products & components.
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Christina Argyropoulou
First time participating in FET.
Christina is Nanotypos project manager graduated in 2003 from the school of economics of the Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki, Greece. In 2006, Mrs. Argyropoulou completed her MBA from the Bergische University of Wuppertal
(Germany) while in 2015 she received her second master’s degree in Banking from the open University of Greece.
Since 2008 she has been working in various private sectors as administrative and financial officer.
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Laura D'Alfonso
Laura D’Alfonso graduated in Physics, PhD in Biophysics, is now associate professor of Applied Physics, University of Milano Bicocca, Dep. of Physics. The research activity of LD has mainly focused in molecular biophysics, and it has been devoted to the application of spectroscopic techniques to study the structural and dynamic properties of proteins, and to analyze their interaction, by combining experimental and theoretical-simulative approaches. Since 2001 LD collaborates to the development of a laboratory for advanced spectroscopy (LABS) where fluorescence techniques have been combined to non-linear optical microscopy to perform experiments at high spatial and temporal resolution on the stability of biomolecules and on their interactions, down to the single molecule level or in cells or tissues, for biological and medical applications. LD has acquired experience in time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy and in in-vitro and in-vivo single molecules fluorescence. Moreover, LD has acquired expertise on advanced fluorescence techniques by employing non-linear excitation to perform experiments of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) and resonant energy transfer (FRET) in solutions and in cells. Hot spots of LD’s research have been the investigation of the internal photodynamic of proteins, the development of nano-biosensors based on the lifetime changes of particular fluorophores, with several possible applications and the development of nanocomposite (metal nanoparticles/polymers) films for remote photo-thermal antibacterial and medic applications. LD is author/co-author of more than 65 publications on scientific journals, H factor=20, citations 1200.
Laura Sironi graduated in Physics, PhD in Biophysics, is now Associate Professor of Applied Physics, University of Milano Bicocca, Dep. of Physics. LS has a scientific background in advanced spectroscopic methods and in fluorescence techniques combined to linear and nonlinear optical microscopy for biological and medical applications. LS has acquired expertise in time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy (both lifetime and anisotropy decay) in-vitro and in-vivo (cells), in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) and resonant energy transfer (FRET) in solutions and in cells. The research activity of LS is also devoted to the development of image analysis methods applied to data acquired by in-vivo and ex-vivo single and multi-photon excitation microscopy to extract cells dynamic/interaction parameters (cell tracking and morphology, host pathogen interactions in lymph nodes, study of the physical properties of tumor microenvironments) and hemodynamics in model and complex systems/organisms (microfluidic channels, zebrafish and hepatic microcirculation in mice). LS research interest is also focused on the study of the second harmonic signal generated by collagen in different tumour tissues (also by means of a novel phasor-based approach). Other topics of LS research are the characterization of optical and thermal properties of theranostic devices, based on gold/silver nanoparticles, and the study of their interaction with cells by means of image correlation spectroscopy techniques. LS is author/co-author of more than 40 publications on scientific journals; H factor = 17, citations = 900.
She is a Researcher at IESL-FORTH and leads the “Tissue Engineering – Regenerative Medicine and Immunoengineering Lab (TERMIM Lab). Her current fields of interests comprise mainly the study of the 3D scaffolds topology and chemical characteristics effect on specific cell responses such as adhesion, proliferation and differentiation. Dr. Ranella has entered into European (FP7 and Horizon 2020) and National research projects. In the interdisciplinary area of her interest three post-doctoral research scientists, three PhD, two MSc and two undergraduate students, originated from different scientific fields, are employed. Her research activities have led to the granting of two patents and have contributed in more than 45 publications in international peer-reviewed journals and 4 chapters in scientific books which have been cited over 1400 times (Scopus, h-indexr=18).
He is Assist. Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Technology of the University of Crete and Associated Researcher at IESL-FORTH. He holds a B.Sc. in Physics (1991), an MSc in Radio-Electronics (1995) and a PhD in optical memories and information processing (1998) from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. His research focuses in the area of optics with emphasis on non-linear optics, ultrafast laser matter interaction phenomena, optical system design, and wavefront sensing and manipulation. The output of his research is presented in over 65 publications in peer reviewed journals, several talks at major international conferences and 2 chapters in books which have been cited over 2600 times (h-index=28). He has been involved in several EU and nationally funded research projects.
Dr. Vasileia Melissinaki is a Post Doctoral fellow at FORTH/IESL. She received her PhD (2017) and Master degree from the department of Physics of University of Crete, Greece. In her PhD thesis she worked on the fabrication and studying of 3D micro-optical elements on the end face of optical fibers and their use as gas and liquid sensors. Her research interests include multiphoton lithography, the fabrication and study of 3D micro-optical elements, the development of optical fiber devices using advanced laser techniques, materials processing using ultrafast lasers and the development of 2D and 3D scaffolds for tissue engineering and micro implants for medical applications. She is the author of 14 peer-reviewed publications in international journals, 6 conference proceedings and 2 book chapters reflecting in more than 820 citations (Google scholar h-index=11) .
Role in project: member of FORTH, will carry out the 2PP fabrication of device prototypes.
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Elmina Kabouraki
She is a Post Doctoral fellow at FORTH/IESL. She received her and Master and PhD (2019) degree from the Materials Science and Techology Department of Universty of Crete, Greece. Dr. Kabouraki specializes in the synthesis and characterization of hybrid photosensitive materials, synthesis and characterization of quantum dots and the fabrication of three-dimensional photonic devices via the multi-photon polymerization technique. In her PhD thesis she was involved in the synthesis of novel photosensitive materials and in the fabrication of optical switching devices as well as three-dimensional photonic crystal lasers. She is the author of 6 peer-reviewed publicationsand and of a book chapter in non-liner optics. She has participated in numerous international conferences and she has received the best presentation prize for PhD student at the European Materials Research Symposium.
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Apostolos Dimitriadis
First time participating in FET.
He is a Technology Transfer Consultant at PRAXI Network. Prior to this position, Apostolos was the coordinator of the NCP team of PRAXI and the Technical Coordinator of CIP-Hellas. He has worked as an expert for the creation and promotion of national and regional development policies. Apostolos holds a degree in Physics from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and an MSc and a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Durham, UK. Prior to joining PRAXI Network Apostolos was working as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Ioannina, Greece. He conducted research on several aspects of Theoretical Physics and assisted in the training of two PhD students.
She is the Head of Office Administration of PRAXI Network since 12/1998. She actively supports all administrative aspects of Technology brokerage, Exploitation of RTD results, Publicity and promotion of the work of PRAXI Network, Project Management, Office Management, Staff Management, Training of new staff plus Conference organizing. Christina holds a BA in French Language & Literature from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (School of Philosophy). Prior to her involvement with the activities of PRAXI Network, Christina held a position in the Customer Service Department of two international moving and forwarding companies.
The development of new implantable medical devices needs certification by a notified body (according to Regulation (EU) 2017/745 on Medical Devices) and the assessment of the material biocompatibility profile according to the ISO 10993 series. All these norms result in lengthy, expensive, inefficient, complex and partly subjective studies.IN2SIGHT will be a revolutionary technological platform that will reduce costs and increase the efficacy of regulatory standards by improving statistical significance of the data and complying with relevant formats for data exchange (SEND) and GLP.
References:
S. Ramakrishna, L. Tian, C. Wang, S. Liao, W-E Teo. "Safety testing of a new medical device", Medical Devices, 2015,137-153, DOI.
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Maria Kitsara
Dr. Maria Kitsara is a Technology Transfer Consultant at PRAXI Network / FORTH. Her activities include the support of researchers by providing advisory services to all stages of technology transfer. Specifically, she provides services for the dissemination and exploitation of their scientific outcomes, including intellectual property management, access to funding, establishing new collaborations in the scientific community and enterprises.
She is a Materials Engineer with an MSc in polymer science and a PhD in the area of miniaturized biosensors. Prior to joining PRAXI Network at FORTH, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at numerous research institutions in Europe focusing on the thematic areas of biosensors, microfluidics, and biomaterials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine: Dublin City University in Ireland, Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM) of CSIC in Spain, École Normale Supérieure (ENS Paris) and Sorbonne University in France. She has contributed in numerous competitive research projects and was awarded 3 personal research grants, including a Marie Curie Fellowship. Also, she worked as Lead Research Manager for Biomedical applications at the company BioG3D - New 3D printing technologies. She is the author of more than 40 peer-reviewed publications including 3 book chapters, and the co-inventor of 3 patents.
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Mario Marini graduated in physics in 2018 at the Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca and is currently a PhD candidate at the Physics Department of the same University. MM’s research activity is centered on the development of optical microscopy techniques for the study of complex biological systems. Specifically, in the context of photo-activated thermal imaging, MM has been responsible for the development of a novel super-resolution imaging method aimed at the high resolution spatial mapping of the sample temperature and thermal properties. In parallel, MM has exploited multiphoton fabrication to develop and design photo-thermally active laser-written proteinaceous microstructures to be used as platforms for cell growth and stimulation.
MB graduated in Physics at Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca (Milano, Italy) in 2012. After receiving the Ph.D. in Physics in Milan in 2015, MB performed postdoctoral research on fluorescence-based single cell sorting at the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics (LFD, University of California – Irvine, USA), and is currently a postdoctoral scholar at the Physics Department of Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca.
MB’s research activity is centered on the development of instrumentation and data-processing methods in optical (fluorescence and photo-thermal) microscopy aimed at the study of complex biological systems by experimental, simulative and theoretical approaches. A major interest involves the investigation of diffusive, active and anomalous transport from the sub-cellular level up to the spatial scale of microcirculatory vessel networks by the principles of particle tracking and correlation spectroscopy.
The cytocompatibility of the biomaterial in vitro and the immunogenicity in vivo are tested in general following these lines of actions.
• Cytocompatibility in vitro is tested on immortalized cell lines, using metabolic assays and imaging and looking how cells differentiate in the presence of the materials. • In vivo immunogenic evaluations track cellular viability and activation. For viability, the morphology and number of immune cells populating the biomaterial surface is checked with staining protocols and/or by metabolic assays. Cell activation tests detect pro- and anti-inflammation cell surface markers through immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence or FACS.
However, in vitro tests lack a full inflammatory environment and in vivo tests are ethically undesirable.
The project IN2SIGHT aims to renovate the methods for the validation of biomaterials by improving and renovating the statistical methods to analyse the data on the immune response and dramatically reduce the ethical impact of the research.
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Consortium as a whole
The academic/research and the industrial partners come from 5 countries and are:
Università degli studi di Milano-Bicocca (UNIMIB), Milano (I)
They form 3 transversal working units with unique knowledge and skills in
material science (FORTH), 2PP laser printing (POLIMI), optical in vivo imaging, animal surgery (UNIMIB), vascularization (DKFZ) and production and replication of micro/nano structured surfaces (NANO);
in vitro (POLIMI) and in vivo validation (UNIMIB) of the immune response to implants;
development of materials for medical implants (POLIMI) and in biomaterial validation (ASPH and TAU).
The capability of synergy between all partners is proved by existing common publications, European projects (ENCITE, NICHOID) and academic agreements for R&D between partners. The R&D success is based on correlated and sequential actions between all the partners from the in vitro validation of the device to the in vivo implementation of the new regulation protocols.
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Monica Giannotta
Monica Giannotta is an highly experienced scientist trained form about 10 years in Elisabetta de Jana laboratory, a world renewed group in the field of vascular biology. MG is very knowledgeable of endothelial cell culture, imaging, protein biochemistry, mouse handling and omics technologies. She will provide both excellent experimental performances and guidance for the younger fellows in the performance of their work.
Role in the project: MG Will help the PI to supervise the experimental activity, and will be personally in charge of the in vitro procedures
DMV, PhD. DI was trained as veterinary pathologist at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Naples “Federico II” (Naples - Italy) were he obtained his veterinary degree in 2009. In 2011 he moved to the Unit of Dynamics of the Immune Response group (San Raffaele Hospital. Milan, Italy) where he developed advanced imaging modalities, including correlative and intravital microscopy to study the antiviral immune response in complex vasculature networks such as the hepatic sinusoids. In 2015 he obtained his PhD in basic and applied Immunology at UniSR and from 2016, he is part of the Division of Vascular Oncology and Metastasis (DKFZ) and of the European Center for Angio-Science (ECAS, Medical Faculty. Mannheim, Germany). His research is currently focus on the vascular control of the organ function and regeneration with a specific focus on liver chronic inflammation and cancer.
(first time FET participant) Pietro di Lucia, is an intramurally funded technician with more than 20 years of experience in cell culture and in vitro and in vivo model. PL ,under supervision of DI, will perform the in experiment described in WP3. Moreover, he will help in performing the in vivo experiment. Role in the project: technical support and in vitro experiments
Michele D’Antonio is a veterinary doctor, with a well-established experienced in mouse pathology and histopathology analysis. He will be in charge of the experiment detailed in WP3 and the relative data analysis.
Manuela Raimondi is full professor of Bioengineering at Politecnico di Milano since 2009.
