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Nicola Elvassore

Direttore Scientifico VIMM
Principal Investigator

Nicola Elvassore has been the Scientific Director of VIMM since 2023 and leads a research group developing new technologies for medicine. With a background in chemical engineering and international experience at institutions such as Berkeley, MIT, and UCL, he studies how to create tissues and miniature organs in the laboratory using stem cells and 3D bioprinting. These studies aim to test drugs more safely and to develop personalized treatments for patients.

Group members

Giovanna Mantovan

  • Manager, Ricercatore

Riccardo Fenu

Giulia Trani

  • Tecnico

Stefano Varani

  • Ricercatore Senior

Maria Grazia La Barbera

  • PhD student

Alessia Gesualdo

  • PhD student

Roberta Frison

  • PhD student

Martina D’ercole

  • PhD student

Pietro Bellet

  • Post-Doc

Research

Nicola Elvassore’s research investigates how stem cells interact with their surrounding environment to better understand their behavior and how they can be used to create human models in the laboratory. His group develops innovative technologies, such as 3D tissue printing (3D bioprinting) and specialized gels that mimic the body’s environment, to build small organs (organoids) derived from reprogrammed cells. The goal is to uncover the mechanisms underlying diseases that affect brain development and to find new personalized solutions for patients.

Publications

  1. In situ tailored confining microenvironment for lung cancer spheroids.

    Dong Y, Qian S, Wang X, Zhang W, Lu W, Qu J, Cui M, Chen L, Zhao Y, Gao Y, Giomo M, Urciuolo A, Feng J, Zheng Y, Jiang B, Shen R, Zhu X, Elvassore N. Mater Today Bio. 2025 Feb 19;31:101602. doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2025.101602. eCollection 2025 Apr.

  2. Quantifying mechanical forces during vertebrate morphogenesis.

    Maniou E, Todros S, Urciuolo A, Moulding DA, Magnussen M, Ampartzidis I, Brandolino L, Bellet P, Giomo M, Pavan PG, Galea GL, Elvassore N. Nat Mater. 2024 Nov;23(11):1575-1581. doi: 10.1038/s41563-024-01942-9. Epub 2024 Jul 5.

  3. Hydrogel-in-hydrogel live bioprinting for guidance and control of organoids and organotypic cultures.

    Urciuolo A, Giobbe GG, Dong Y, Michielin F, Brandolino L, Magnussen M, Gagliano O, Selmin G, Scattolini V, Raffa P, Caccin P, Shibuya S, Scaglioni D, Wang X, Qu J, Nikolic M, Montagner M, Galea GL, Clevers H, Giomo M, De Coppi P, Elvassore N. Nat Commun. 2023 May 30;14(1):3128. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37953-4.

  4. Cellular population dynamics shape the route to human pluripotency.

    Panariello F, Gagliano O, Luni C, Grimaldi A, Angiolillo S, Qin W, Manfredi A, Annunziata P, Slovin S, Vaccaro L, Riccardo S, Bouche V, Dionisi M, Salvi M, Martewicz S, Hu M, Cui M, Stuart H, Laterza C, Baruzzo G, Schiebinger G, Di Camillo B, Cacchiarelli D, Elvassore N. Nat Commun. 2023 May 17;14(1):2829. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37270-w.

  5. 3D ECM-rich environment sustains the identity of naive human iPSCs.

    Cesare E, Urciuolo A, Stuart HT, Torchio E, Gesualdo A, Laterza C, Gagliano O, Martewicz S, Cui M, Manfredi A, Di Filippo L, Sabatelli P, Squarzoni S, Zorzan I, Betto RM, Martello G, Cacchiarelli D, Luni C, Elvassore N. Cell Stem Cell. 2022 Dec 1;29(12):1703-1717.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2022.11.011.

Curriculum

1998

PhD in Chemical Engineering

1997 - 1998

Visiting Student - University of California, Berkeley, USA

1998 -2001

Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Università degli Studi di Padova

1998 - 1999

Postdoctoral Research Fellow - University of California, Berkeley, USA

2005 -2007

Associate Researcher - Harvard – M.I.T. Division of Health Sciences-Technology, Cambrige, USA

2002- 2014

Researcher - Università degli Studi di Padova

2014 - 2019

Associate Professor - Università degli Studi di Padova

2015 - 2021

Distinguished Resident Professor - Shanghai Institute of Advanced Immunochemistry

2015 - 2020

Associate Researcher - University College London

2007

Principal Investigator - VIMM

2022

Scientific Director - VIMM

2019

Full Professor - Università degli Studi di Padova

Selected Awards

2005

Fulbright Visiting Scientist at the Harvard–MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology – M.I.T., Cambridge, USA

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