Research Group Perale
The NeuroRegeneration Lab (NRLab) has been established in May 2022 at USI and focuses its research on innovative therapies based on the development of nanostructured, resorbable and tunable biomaterials for multitarget regenerative approach in sub-acute spinal cord injury (SCI). The interdisciplinary nature of our group spans nanofabrication to bioengineering, neurobiology to pharmacology providing a unique opportunity to improve the current therapeutic strategies in SCI. Given that SCI is a complex pathology, in applying an multidomain and interdisciplinary approach, the lab is at the forefront in addressing this serious multifactorial neurological condition. The main scientific aim of the NRLab is to support tissue neuroprotection and plasticity towards neuroregeneration after SCI. Research attention is given to key players influencing the evolution of the trauma, indeed the NRLab investigates in different paradigms in vitro, in vivo and ex-vivo the patho-physiologic mechanisms underlying SCI, orienting the treatment towards many potential neuropathological targets associated to inflammation and neurodegeneration, to support tissue preservation and regeneration. Among successfully in vivo developed tools to counteract sub-acute SCI, the NRLab accounts for a library of tunable hydrogels to act as local reservoirs of stem cell protective factors and a family of nanoparticles for locally controlled drug delivery. Aiming at a long term clinical translation of its results, the NRLab is scaling up its activities to GLP conditions.
Team
Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Perale, head
Dr. Pietro Veglianese, researcher
Valeria Veneruso, Zoe Giorgi, PhD students
Francesca Palermo, Master student
Prof. Dr. Filippo Rossi, visting professor
Dr. Fabio Pizzetti, visiting post-doc
Bianca Fischli, visiting research assistant
Oona Jung, visiting PhD student
The NRLab runs also several local, national and international collaborations, noteworthily with:
- The Neuroregeneration Group at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Traumatology in Vienna
- Prof. Michael Raghunath from the Tissue Engineering group at the ZHAW in Wädenswil
- The Laboratory of Biology of Neurodegenerative Disorders at the Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche “Mario Negri” in Milano
- The Applied Physical Chemistry lab at Politecnico di Milano
- The next-door colleagues of the BIOS+ cluster
- The NRLab is also part of the Swiss BioTechNet
- TEDD
- Nano.Swiss platform
