RESEARCH

MAIN RESEARCH FIELD

Biology of reproduction. Specific research interests: morphodynamics of the fertilization process, in human and other mammals, as it occurs in different hormonal and microenvironmental conditions, with particular regard to protocols of assisted reproduction; ultrastructural morphology of the human oocyte subjected to different cryopreservation procedures; morphological features of oocytes of different mammals including human, immature and/or subjected to in vitro maturation; embryogenesis of the human female gonad; ultrastructure of the follicular-luteal complex, in human and other mammals, in normal, experimental (ovarian tissue cryopreservation and grafting, in vitro culture of ovarian follicles) and pathological conditions; ultrastructural studies on the mammalian female genital tract; vascularization of the ovary and oviduct in mammals; ultrastructural morphology of human spermatozoa treated with different cryopreservation protocols. morphological features of mammalian female and male gonads and gametes subjected to environmental pollution (radiations and pesticides); ultrastructural studies on human placenta exposed to environmental pollution (microplastics).

OTHER RESEARCH FIELDS

Dentistry (evaluation of tooth anatomical structures, materials, and instruments); biomaterials; nanomaterials; nanoparticles; cancer cells; cells and tissues belonging to cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and digestive systems.

INSTRUMENTATION AND TECHNIQUES EMPLOYED

Light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (conventional and variable pressure), confocal laser scanning microscopy, immunocytochemistry, immunofluorescence.

PUBLICATIONS, BOOKS, EDITORIAL BOARDS

More than 300 publications (about 100 peer-reviewed full papers), including invited papers and lectures, published in national and international journals and books, or in proceedings and abstract books of national and international congresses and symposia.

Editor/Co-Editor of 8 scientific volumes and Author/Editor of 8 didactic volumes.

Member of the Editorial Board of:

• Austin Journal of Reproductive Medicine & Infertility (Austin Publishing Group);

• International Journal of Fertility and Sterility (Royan Institute of Iran);

• International Journal of Reproductive Medicine (Hindawi Publ. Co.);

• Journal of Iranian Anatomical Sciences (Iranian Society of Anatomical Sciences);

• Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics (Springer) (until 2018);

• Marcello Malpighi Symposia Series (Rome) (Associate Editor);

• Medical Journal of West Kazakhstan (West Kazakhstan Marat Ospanov State Medical University);

• Microscopy Research and Technique (Wiley - New York) (Guest Editor);

• Reproductive Biology & Endocrinology (until 2017) (BMC, Ltd.);

• The Open Anatomy Journal (Bentham Science Publishers) (Regional Editor for Europe);

• The Open Medicine Journal (Bentham Science Publishers) (Associate Editor).

Referee (Peer Reviewer) for: Aging, American Journal of Reproductive Immunology, Anatomia Histologia Embryologia, Animal Reproduction, Cell Cycle, Cell Tissue Research, Cryobiology, Cryoletters, Current Stem Cell Research, EOMT, European Biophysics Journal, Fertility and Sterility, Histology & Histopathology, Human Reproduction, International Journal of Developmental Biology, International Journal of Reproductive Medicine, Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, Life Sciences, Medical Science Monitor, Microscopy & Microanalysis, Molecular Human Reproduction, Plos One, Reproductive BioMedicine Online, Theriogenology, Yakhteh (The Cell), Zygote.

SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS (database: SCOPUS, November 2022)

N° publications: 118

N° publications (last 10 years): 52

N° citations: 3124

N° citations (last 15 years): 1458

H-index: 34

H-index (last 15 years): 24

GRANTS

Recipient of national and international grants for numerous research projects (MIUR, PRIN, University “La Sapienza”, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, National Health Institute funds).

SCIENTIFIC TRAINING ABROAD

1988-1989: “Visiting investigator” in Japan, at the Departments of Anatomy of the Schools of Medicine of the Tottori University (Yonago), Osaka University (Osaka), Okayama University (Okayama).

SCIENTIFIC MEMBERSHIPS

From 1987: member of the Italian Society of Anatomy and Histology (SIAI); from 1995: founding member and scientific secretary of the Malpighi Academy for the Study of Microscopic Anatomy; from 1997 to 2002: member of the International Society of Reproductive Medicine “Alpha”; from 1998: member (founding member and, since 2020, member of the scientific committee) of the Italian Society of Embryology, Reproduction and Research (SIERR); from 2000: member of the Italian Society of Reproduction (SIdR); from 2005: member of the European Society of Pathology (Electron Microscopy Working Group); from 2008: member of the Italian Society of Microscopic Sciences (SISM); from 2014: member of the Committee of Teachers of Human Anatomy; from 2015: honorary member of the Argentine Society of Clinical Anatomy.

ORGANIZATION OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONGRESSES AND SYMPOSIA

Member of the Organizing Committee and scientific secretary of the VIII International Symposium on Morphological Sciences (Rome, Italy, 1988), 2nd International Malpighi Symposium (Rome, Italy, 1995), 15th Congress of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) and 4th International Malpighi Symposium (Rome, Italy, 1999).Member of the Scientific Committee of the II SIERR National Congress (Naples, Italy, 2003). Member of the Organizing Committee of the 5th International Malpighi Symposium (Rome, Italy, 2003). Member of the International Advisory Board of the XVIII International Symposium on Morphological Sciences (Belgrade, Serbia, 2005). Organizer of Symposia during the XXI International Symposium on Morphological Sciences (Taormina-Messina, Italy, 2010), the 34° Congress of the Italian Society of Histochemistry (S. Benedetto del Tronto, AP, Italy, 2011) and the XXV International Symposium on Morphological Sciences (Xi’an, China, 2017). Member of the International Committee of the 7th Yazd International Congress and Student Award in Reproductive Medicine (Yazd, Iran, 2017). Member of the Scientific Board of the 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th Meeting “Chi dice Donna dice.… Donna” (Casamari, FR, Italy, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021); Member of the Scientific Board of the Meeting “La Donna ieri e oggi…. Il suo tempo, i suoi spazi” (Tirana, Albania, 2019); Member of the Scientific Committee of the IX SIERR National Congress (Rome, Italy, 2022); Member of the Scientific Board of the Meeting “Ambiente Donna: dal clima alla salute” (Tirana, Albania, 2022).

PARTICIPATION TO CONGRESSES AND SYMPOSIA

More than 100 National and International Congresses, often as Invited Speaker and/or Session Chairman.

MOST RECENT SELECTED INVITED LECTURES

1. “Donna, ambiente, salute riproduttiva”. Ambiente Donna: dal clima alla salute, Università Cattolica Nostra Signora del Buon Consiglio, Tirana, Albania, 13 Maggio 2022.

2. “Electron microscopy and allied disciplines for the study of gametes and embryos”. Tecnobios Procreazione (9.Baby) Symposium 2021, Bologna, 16-18 Settembre 2021.

3. “Female body identity and transformation after death: The “Dance Macabre” of Anatomy”. XXVII International Symposium on Morphological Sciences, Almaty, Kazakhstan, May 27-31, 2021.

4. “Women and Assisted Reproduction: The Oocyte Perspective”. Incontro di studio “Natalità e Pari Opportunità”. Campidoglio - Sala della Protomoteca, Roma, 3 Ottobre 2020.

5. “Spermatozoa and oocytes under the electron microscopy lens”. Tecnobios Procreazione (9.Baby) Symposium 2020, Bologna, 24-26 Settembre 2020.

6. “I mitocondri di Eva, la madre delle madri”. Convegno “Quando la scienza è donna. Passato, presente e futuro”. Campidoglio - Sala della Protomoteca, Roma, 7 Dicembre 2019.

7. “La bellezza non svanirà: immagini di figure femminili tra anatomia, scienza e arte”. Convegno “Donna: la Grande Bellezza”, Abbazia di Casamari, Veroli (FR), 23 Novembre 2019.

8. “Ultrastructure of human oocytes subjected to different protocols of assisted reproduction”. Nanoinnovation 2019. Rome, June 11-14, 2019.

9. “I mitocondri di Eva e il cerchio della vita”. La donna ieri e oggi.… Il suo tempo, i suoi spazi, Università Cattolica Nostra Signora del Buon Consiglio, Tirana, Albania, 12 Aprile 2019.

10. “La preservazione della fertilità femminile: stato dell’arte e prospettive future”. La Donna Oggi per l’Europa di Domani, Università Cattolica Nostra Signora del Buon Consiglio, Tirana, Albania, 21 Maggio 2018.

11. “The international medical schools in Italy: facts and perspectives”. International Scientific and Methodological Conference - Internationalization of Continuing Medical Education: a Prospection. Aktobe, Kazakhstan, April 26-27, 2018.

12. “La preservazione della fertilità: aspetti clinici, etici e sociali”. 1° Convegno “Chi dice donna dice...donna”, Abbazia di Casamari, Veroli (FR), 25 Novembre 2017.

13. “Influence of different macromolecular supplements on the ultrastructural morphology of the human oocyte during cryopreservation”. XXV International Symposium on Morphological Sciences, Xi’an, China, July 26-30, 2017.

14. “Ultrastructural markers of quality in human metaphase II oocytes cryopreserved with media containing different macromolecular supplements”. 7th Yazd International Congress and Student Award in Reproductive Medicine, Yazd, Iran, April 28-30, 2017.

15. “Effects of cryopreservation on the ultrastructure of human oocytes in assisted reproductive technology”. I International Congress Of Clinical Anatomy, Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 24-26, 2015.

16. “Ultrastructural modifications in the organular pattern of human metaphase II oocytes subjected to freeze-thawing”. XIV International Symposium on Morphological Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey, September 2-6, 2015.

17. “Organelle morphodynamics in human mature oocytes after cryopreservation. Ultrastructural analysis at different time intervals during thawing”. 6th Yazd International Congress and Student Award in Reproductive Medicine, Yazd, Iran, April 17-19, 2015.

18. “Ultrastructural assessment of quality of in-vitro matured human oocytes”. XXIII International Symposium on Morphological Sciences, Niigata, Japan, September 10-13, 2013.

19. “Morphological effects of pesticides on the mammalian ovarian follicle”. Conference: Actual problems of experimental and clinical morphology, Aktobe City, Kazakhstan, May 30-31, 2013.

20. “Analisi della morfologia ultrastrutturale di ovociti umani maturi crioconservati tramite congelamento lento o vitrificazione”. Congresso Nazionale di Medicina della Riproduzione, Riccione (RN), Italy, May 23-25, 2013.

21. “Ultrastructural features of human mature (metaphase II) oocytes subjected to slow freezing or vitrification: A comparative analysis”. 24th European Congress of Pathology, Prague, September 8-12, 2012.

22. “Ultrastruttura del follicolo ovarico di topo coltivato in vitro”. Tecnobios Procreazione Symposium 2011. Desenzano del Garda, Italy, September 14-15, 2011.

23. “Ultrastructural features and meiotic spindle dynamics in human mature oocytes subjected to different cryopreservation protocols”. 34^th Congress of the Italian Society of Histochemistry. S. Benedetto del Tronto (AP), Italy, June 7-9, 2011.

24. “Ultrastructural features of cryopreserved oocytes after slow freezing and vitrification”. Tecnobios Procreazione Symposium 2010. Bologna, Italy, 24-25 November 2010.

25. “Neural stem cells in neurospheres, embryoid bodies and the CNS of advanced human embryos, in vivo (spontaneous differentiation)”. Expanding Boundaries in Reproductive Medicine and Technology (5^th World Congress of the World Association of Reproductive Medicine). Moscow, Russia, October 10-13, 2010.

26. “Ultrastructural markers of quality in human vitrified oocytes”. Expanding Boundaries in Reproductive Medicine and Technology (5^th World Congress of the World Association of Reproductive Medicine). Moscow, Russia, October 10-13, 2010.

27. “Ultrastructural analysis of cryopreserved oocytes after slow cooling and vitrification”. XXI International Symposium on Morphological Sciences. Taormina (Messina), Italy, September 18-22, 2010.

28. “Sperm selection for ART: fine structure and sperm contribution to fertility”. IMSI: New Advances. Rome, Italy, 25-26 June 2010.

29. “Ovarian tissue cryopreservation and grafting: an ultrastructural approach”. 10^th Royan Congress on Reproductive Biomedicine, Tehran, Iran, September 23-25, 2009.

30. “Ultrastructure of human preovulatory oocyte in assisted reproduction protocols”. 10^th Royan Congress on Reproductive Biomedicine, Tehran, Iran, September 23-25, 2009.

31. “Ultrastructural markers of quality in human vitrified oocytes”. 13^th World Congress on Human Reproduction, Venice, Italy, March 5-8, 2009.

32. “The preservation of fertility in humans: Ultrastructural analysis of different approaches”. In-vitro Embryology: New Trends in Reproductive Medicine (3^rd World Congress of the World Association of Reproductive Medicine), Rome, Italy, 27 September-1 October 2006.

33. “Behaviour of the oocyte surfaces from early gonadal development to fertilization: A review by scanning electron microscopy”. The 16^th International Microscopy Congress, Sapporo, Japan, September 3-8, 2006.

34. “Ultrastructural morphology of the oocyte from its stem origin to fertilization”. International Symposium on Recent Advances in Animal Science, Joint Meeting of 2^nd IS-AS and -3^rd IS-IFS, Sendai, Japan, 16-18 November 2005.

35. “Ultrastructure of the human oocyte”. 12^th World Congress on Human Reproduction, Venice, Italy, March 10-13, 2005.

36. “Ultrastructure of human cryopreserved ovarian tissue and oocyte”. Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, August 20, 2004.

37. “The ovary: from germ cells to mature oocytes – a long journey”. 1^st World Congress on Ovarian Cryopreservation and Ovarian Transplantation, Bruxelles, Belgium, June 27-28, 2003.

38. “Morphodynamics of human oocytes in vivo and during ART protocols”. ESHRE Campus 2003 – Mammalian Oogenesis and Folliculogenesis: in vivo and in vitro Approaches -, Frascati (Rome), Italy, 10-12 April 2003.

39. “Ultrastructure of fresh and cryopreserved ovarian tissue and oocyte”. 2° Congresso Naz. SIERR, Naples, Italy, 30 Genuary-1^st February 2003.

SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATIONS

• Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Italy (Prof. G. Macchiarelli: Ultrastructure of the ovary, Fallopian tube and oocyte; Ultrastructure of the spermatozoa; Scanning electron microscopy of vascular corrosion casts in the ovary and Fallopian tube)

• Department of Gynaecology-Obstetrics & Urology, University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy (Prof. C. Aragona, Dr. G. Micara, Dr. A. Linari: Ultrastructure of the human oocyte)

• CNESPS, Italian National Health Institute, Rome, Italy (Dr. G. Scaravelli: Multicentric study on human oocyte cryopreservation)

• Department of Animal Biology, University of Sassari, Italy (Prof. S. Naitana, Prof. G. Leoni, Prof. F. Berlinguer: Light, electron and confocal microscopy of prepubertal and adult sheep oocytes)

• Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Teramo, Italy (Prof. B. Barboni: Angiogenesis in sheep and pig ovary)

• Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Lazzaro Spallanzani”, University of Pavia, Italy (Prof. M. Zuccotti, Prof. S. Garagna: Oogenesis in mammals)

• Tecnobios Procreazione, Bologna, Italy (Dr. A. Borini, Dr. G. Coticchio: Ultrastructure of the human cryopreserved oocyte; ultrastructure of the human oocyte after in vitro maturation)

• Ob/Gyn IVF UNIT, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy (Dr. L. De Santis: Human oocytes cryopreserved with different macromolecular supplements)

• Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Rome, Italy (Prof. A. Ragusa: microplastics and reproductive health, ultrastructural studies on the human placenta)

• Yazd Institute for Reproductive Sciences, Shaid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran (Prof. M.A. Khalili: Morphology of cryopreserved and in vitro-matured human oocytes; morphology of cryopreserved human spermatozoa)

• Department of Anatomy, West Kazakhstan Marat Ospanov State Medical University, Aktobe, Kazakhstan; Department of Gynaecology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan (Prof. G. Zhurabekova & coworkers: Pesticides and reproductive health)

• Faculty of Agriculture, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan (Dr. H. Yamashiro: Effects of radiations on Japanese macaque spermatozoa)

• Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Science, University of California San Francisco, USA (Prof. P. Rinaudo: In vitro culture of mouse embryos under different oxygen saturations)

• Department of Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopaedics - Section of Histology, University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy (Prof. F. Fazi: Mechanisms of regulation of cell growth in tumors)

• Department of Oral and Maxillo-Facial Sciences, University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy (Proff. A. Polimeni, G. Gambarini, L. Testarelli: Ultrastructural evaluation of tooth anatomical structures and materials used in dentistry)

• Department of Environmental Biology, University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy (Prof. L. Sadori: Ultrastructural analyses in Paleobotanic)

• Department of Chemistry, University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy (Prof. I. Fratoddi: Ultrastructural analyses on nanoparticles)

• Department of Chemical Sciences and Technologies, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy (Prof. Valeria Beatrice Conte, Prof. Federica Valentini: Analysis of nanomaterials)

• Institute of Structure of Matter, Italian National Research Council, Rome, Italy (Dr. Julietta Rau: Ultrastructure of biomaterials)

• Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape Superintendency for the Provinces of Latina and Frosinone, Ministry of Culture, Italy (Prof. M. Rubini: Ultrastructural analysis of fossil teeth and bone fragments)