Scopus ID 6508342717

During the master’s degree in Medical Biotechnologies at the University of Padua (2007, Italy) Dr. Urciuolo acquired molecular biology skills with particular focus on extracellular matrix (ECM), analysis of animal and in vitro models, and on skeletal muscle. During her PhD and her first PostDoctoral experience at the Dept. of Molecular Medicine, Dr. Urciuolo began and developed a new research line in Prof. Paolo Bonaldo’s lab focused on the role of ECM (and in particular collagen VI) in preserving muscle stem cell niche, muscle regeneration and skeletal muscle mechanical properties. After this experience, in 2014, Dr. Urciuolo entered the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine in the lab of Prof. Paolo De Coppi at UCL-Institute of Child Health in London. Together with the extraordinary personal and scientific international experience, Dr. Urciuolo had the possibility to implement her surgery skills in murine models and to reach high stages of competence in tissue engineering by using decellularised organs. In particular, she combined decellularized organs with multiple cell types to develop tissue engineering constructs to be applied in regenerative medicine strategies in diseased animal models, with particular focus on skeletal muscle. In 2016, Dr. Urciuolo joined Prof. Nicola Elvassore’s lab at the University of Padua, where she implement her specialization with tissue engineering, human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) derivation and differentiation, microfluidics, biomaterials and 3D bioprinting. In collaboration with Bioera Lab (University of Padua) and UCL-Institute of Child Health, Dr. Urciuolo developed a new technology, named intravital 3D (i3D) bioprinting, which allows hydrogel fabrication inside pre-existing 3D environment, both in vitro and in vivo, based on the implementation of multiphoton microscopes and photo-sensitive biopolymers. The i3D technology offers an unprecedented opportunity to study cell biology and physiology in 3D environments, where the internal structure and organization can be modified according to biological needs, and allow i3D bioprinting of skeletal muscles in live animals. The current research line of her lab results from the multidisciplinary integration of cell biology and extracellular matrix/biomaterial engineering. Particular interest of her research team resides in the development and the study of 3D models of human skeletal muscle equipped with neuronal network, by combining hiPSC-derived cells, decellularised matrix and 3D bioprinting.
From 2018, thanks to the STARS-Starting grant, Dr. Urciuolo is a Junior Principal Investigator at the Istituto di Ricerca Pediatrica, and from 2020 she is a visiting Research Associate at the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section of the UCL-Institute of Child Health (London, UK).
Dr. Urciuolo authored 22 publications with a total number of citations equal to 1539 and h-index of 14 (according to Scopus).

E-mail: anna.urciuolo@unipd.it