Who we are
Where we are
The Laboratory of Experimental and Applied Medical Technologies of the Department of Medicine, is located at Pavilion 27, Traversa 2C, Floor -1 and Floor 4 of Via Gramsci 14, 43126 Parma
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What we do
Main Lines of Research
Analysis of the Role of Neurogenic Factors in Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy (PRIN 2022) 2023-2026
The proposed research project is dedicated to understanding the role of neurocardiac interaction in the context of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy and sudden death.Our role in the project is to analyze the mechanisms of sudden death in cardiac organoids derived from human iPSCs carrying mutations in desmoglein and plakophilin. These cardioids will be composed of cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells and CNS neurons. We will also provide electromechanical evaluation in KO mice for the above-mentioned tight junctions and therapeutic intervention using NPY agonists contained in nanovectors, using the combination of ViKIE and MUX.
YIRG: Young Research Investigator Grant. Organoids on Chip for the investigation of inherited cardiac arrhythmias. 2022-2026
The project focuses on training 4 postdocs in one of the NRP 2021-2027 topics: in vitro recapitulation of inherited diseases. To achieve this goal, we used human iPSCs derived in cardiomyocytes to construct high-throughput functional and molecular screening (HTS) organoids in the LOKI system. A new bioreactor with innovative technologies is being developed to pursue the project goals. Through collaboration with DIA and SCVSA @UNIPR Departments, arrhythmia will be functionally studied and drug screening using nanodelivery will be investigated. The project enables the employment of four different postdocs in four different disciplines.
NanoKos: Increasing Research Capacity in Kosovo. Nanoparticles in environmental and medical research. EuropeAID BGUE-B2020-22.020102-C1-NEAR DELKOS. 2023-2026
The EU-funded project focuses on the investigation of inhalable nanoparticles in environmental and medical research with the ultimate goal of implementing research capacity in Kosovo. Students and postdocs from the University of Pristina will join our lab, King's College, and the University of Milan for their training based on this shared project on cardiovascular diseases and (nano)therapies in order to strengthen collaboration between the groups.
MAMELI Project: MApping the Methylation of repetitive elements to track the Exposome effects on health: the city of Legnano as a LIving lab. Funding Source: ERC consolidator GRANT. (Collaborator Prof. Valentina Bollati). 2023-2028. https://mameli.unimi.it/
The exposome is defined as the totality of exposures that individuals encounter throughout their lives. The emerging field of exposomics investigates how these exposures affect health. The link between the exposome and health is surprising, since disease risk is largely determined by behavioral, environmental, and occupational risk factors, many of which are modifiable, at least potentially. Integrated exposure data can be obtained from biomarkers, sensors, geographic information systems, and conventional tools such as questionnaires. However, the extensive effort required to collect this information complicates its application to large populations. Moreover, little is known about the complex interrelationships among simultaneous risk factors in real-life settings and how they are related to disease development. Although many of the exposures that make up the exposome are extremely common (e.g., air pollution), only a minority of exposed individuals develop certain diseases, probably because of individual characteristics that alter susceptibility to environmental stresses. This observation raises extremely interesting questions: can the ability to adapt to environmental stimuli explain differences in individual responses to exposures? Can we trace this ability? In this context, MAMELI aims to create a city-sized "living laboratory" to investigate a wide range of environmental factors in a relatively controlled system, taking advantage of the myriad behavioral, environmental and occupational risk factors found in an urban population.
The TecMed Lab will address cardiovascular analyses derived from the exposome in the exposed population using a state-of-the-art smartwatch.
AVATHEART: Analysis of the Role of Contractility Deficit in Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome using organoid-on-a-chip technology. Funding source: F IL-UNIPR 2024-2026
In this project we will deliver iPSC-derived cardiac organoids directly from patients undergoing Glenn and Fontan procedures in hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). We will focus on contractility deficit and drug screening in the context of personalized medicine by transferring our results to the clinical setting of patients undergoing the above procedures. We will take advantage of our Loki platform and Vi.Ki.E technology within operating rooms, collaborating with the University of Verona and CNR.
EASIER-EF: New therapies for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Funding source: PNRR - in response to the MUR Young Researchers
This project, in collaboration with the Department of Veterinary medicine and Animal science at the University of Milan, aims to address common comorbidities associated with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) with a highly relevant preclinical pig model. Our investigations will potentially provide a preclinical ''proof-of-concept'' for novel therapeutic targets in patients with cardiometabolic HFpEF. Among these, importance will be given to the expression of circulating miRNAs.
BRIGHT-HFpEF: Integrating molecular knowledge and clinical application: targeting iNOS in a rat model with HFpEF. Funding source: FIL-ATION B - UNIPR 2025
In this project, in collaboration with Department of Veterinary sciences, University of Parma, we aim as primary objective to evaluate the therapeutic potential of a potent and selective inducible NO-synthase inhibitor (iNOS), in the ZSF1 rat model with cardiometabolic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
In-vitro
- Isolation and functional characterization of rat myocytes
- Reprogramming and differentiation and functional characterization of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC-CM) and embryonic cell lines (RuEs).
- Development of nano-devices and nanostructures for the study of nanotoxicology and cardiovascular nanomedicine
- In-vitro and in-vivo optogenetics oriented to cardiac electrophysiology
- Measurements of cellular functionals (Action Potential and Ca2+ imaging) by fluorescence, confocal and 2P microscopy
- Measurements of cell topography by ion conductance microscopy and patch-clamp - collaboration with Istituto Clinico Humanitas.
In-vivo
- Measurement of cardiac electrical activity in-situ on rat and mouse
- Measurement of cardiac kinematics in-situ by machine vision on rat and mouse
- Measurement of cardiac kinematics in-situ by machine vision on patients (congenital cardiomyopathies, LVADs, transplants)-collaboration with UniVR
- In-vivo optogenetics via multiphoton microscopy
Computational
- Analysis of local electromechanical delay (EMD), of cardiac excitability and refractoriness in mouse and rat
- Development and use of Artificial Intelligence (machine learning) for pre- and post-operative classification
In-vitro
In-vivo
