Organizers

Dr. Francesca Romana Bertani obtained master degree in physics and then Ph.D. in human pathology at Sapienza University of Rome and advanced course on flow cytometry from Milan University-Maggiore Hospital. She is currently a researcher at the Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies of CNR, Rome unit. Her main scientific interest and expertise reside at the interface of applied physics and biomedicine, in particular for the development of technologies (optical microscopy, spectroscopy, multispectral imaging, organ on a chip) and approaches (label free, multivariate data analysis) to investigate complex biological processes (immunity, differentiation pathology). 

Dr. Annamaria Gerardino is a senior researcher at CNR Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies. Expertise: micro and nanofabrication and spectroscopy. Main research interests are in photonic devices, smart biochip for cell co-culturing, nanostructuring of magnetic materials, photonic sensor for multimodal spectroscopy for food quality and contamination detection.

Prof. Roberto Natalini got his Ph.D. in mathematics from University of Bordeaux. He is research director at Istituto per le Applicazioni del Calcolo "Mauro Picone" of the Italian National Research Council since 1999, after being associate professor at University of Rome “La Sapienza” and researcher in the same institute. His research themes include: fluid dynamics, road traffic, semiconductors, chemical damage of monuments, biomathematics, game theory in evolutionary dynamics. He is in the Scientific Committee of the Unione Matematica Italiana. He is Chair of the Raising Public Awareness of the European Mathematical Society and also the scientific head of the Mathematical Desk for Italian Industries. 

Dr. Gabriella Bretti has a Ph.D. in Mathematical Methods and Models for Technology and Society at the Sapienza University of Rome with a thesis entitled "Modeling and Numerics for Porous Media and Traffic Flows." Since 2023 she is Senior Researcher at CNR-IAC after being researcher in the same Institute since 2010 . Her research interests are modeling and numerics for partial differential equations, hyperbolic and parabolic problems, and the numerical treatment of inverse problems, with applications to traffic flows, biomathematics, and cultural heritage 

She is currently a fixed-term tenure-track assistant professor at the Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy. She received the Master Degree in Biological Sciences, the School of Specialization Degree in Biochemistry and Clinical Chemistry and the PhD in Complex Systems Applied to Post-Genomic Biology from the University of Torino in 2001, 2005 and 2008, respectively. She is member of i) Interdepartmental Center PolitoBIOMed Lab - Biomedical Engineering Lab, Politecnico di Torino, and ii) Centro 3R - Interuniversitary Center for the Promotion of the Principles of the 3Rs in Teaching and Research. Her main interests are related to i) new materials, 3D bioprinting, micro/nanotechnology applications in basic and biomedical research, particularly in the context of high-impact diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration, and cardiovascular disease; ii) vascular and cancer cell biology and biochemistry; iii) high-sensitivity sensor devices for biomarker detection; iv) 3D cell/tissue models to simulate and study physiological and pathological conditions; v) lab-on-a-chip; vi) organ-on-a-chip.

Dr. Adele De Ninno since 2020 is a researcher at the CNR-Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies. Her primary research interests include microfluidics-based approaches for mimicking complex biological processes, organs-on-chips, especially for onco-immunology applications and lab-on-chip devices for point-of-care diagnostic applications and single-cell analysis. She is cofounder of CNR Tech4Bio interinstitute group, member of EurOoC (European Organ-on-Chip Society), cofounder and coordinator of ‘’Technology Thematic Table’’ of the Italian Organ-on-Chip Society (SIOoC). 

Alessandra Mistretta obtained a Master's Degree in Nanotechnology Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome. She's a fellow researcher at the Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies of CNR, Rome unit. Her main scientific interest and expertise are in synthesizing and characterizing nanomaterials and devices. Her first approach came from her internship experience in the material department of Darmstadt, Germany.