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Cecilia Laterza

Principal Investigator

Cecilia Laterza leads a laboratory dedicated to brain regeneration through bioengineering and stem cells. After training in medical biotechnology and neuroscience, she conducted research in international centers such as the San Raffaele Institute and the Lund Stem Cell Center. She has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant to develop intravital 3D bioprinting strategies aimed at restoring lost neuronal connections following brain injuries. Her research integrates engineering, neurobiology, and regenerative medicine to tackle currently incurable neurological diseases.

Group members

Giulio Sansone

  • PhD student

Daniela Troncoso

  • Post-Doc

Lisa Agostini

  • PhD student

Research

Cecilia Laterza’s research focuses on new strategies to repair the brain when it is damaged—for instance, after trauma or in neurodegenerative diseases. Her laboratory combines stem cells, lab-grown mini-brains (organoids), and advanced technologies to reconstruct neural tissues. She has developed innovative methods to guide cell growth and to build brain tissue using specialized materials. Through a major European project, she studies how to recreate connections between neurons to help the brain regenerate, paving the way for future personalized therapies.

Publications

  1. Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Micropatterned Ectoderm Allows Cell Sorting of Meso-Endoderm Lineages.

    Yang Y, Laterza C, Stuart HT, Michielin F, Gagliano O, Urciuolo A, Elvassore N. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2022 Jul 22;10:907159. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.907159. eCollection 2022.

  2. NGN2 mmRNA-Based Transcriptional Programming in Microfluidic Guides hiPSCs Toward Neural Fate With Multiple Identities.

    Tolomeo AM, Laterza C, Grespan E, Michielin F, Canals I, Kokaia Z, Muraca M, Gagliano O, Elvassore N. Front Cell Neurosci. 2021 Feb 12;15:602888. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2021.602888. eCollection 2021.

  3. Attenuation of reactive gliosis in stroke-injured mouse brain does not affect neurogenesis from grafted human iPSC-derived neural progenitors.

    Laterza C, Uoshima N, Tornero D, Wilhelmsson U, Stokowska A, Ge R, Pekny M, Lindvall O, Kokaia Z. PLoS One. 2018 Feb 5;13(2):e0192118. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192118. eCollection 2018.

  4. Monocyte depletion early after stroke promotes neurogenesis from endogenous neural stem cells in adult brain.

    Laterza C, Wattananit S, Uoshima N, Ge R, Pekny R, Tornero D, Monni E, Lindvall O, Kokaia Z. Exp Neurol. 2017 Nov;297:129-137. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2017.07.012. Epub 2017 Jul 23.

Curriculum

2013

PhD

2013-2015


Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Istituto di Neurologia Sperimentale (INSPE), San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.

2015-2017

Assegnista di Ricerca - Laboratorio di Cellule Staminali e Neurologia Rigenerativa, Centro per le Cellule Staminali, Università di Lund, Lund, Svezia.

2019-2021

Postdoc - Marie Curie

2021-2022

Postdoc - FRAXA

2022-2023

Junior Principal Investigator (Supporting Talent in ReSearch (STARS)

2024 - present

Associate professor - Università degli studi di Padova

2024

Principal Investigator - VIMM

Selected Awards

2008

Scolarship Erasmus placement

2009

Scolarship - Fondazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla (FISM)

2011

Best Young Researcher in Stem Cell Research Award

2012

Travel Grant - 11th International congress of neuroimmunology (ISNI)

2019-2021

Scolarship Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (NeuroStemX),

2021-2022

Scolarship - American FRAXA Foundation

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