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University of Trieste
(UT)
Our research activities focus on the development of biological drugs for cardiovascular disorders, and in particular for the treatment of myocardial ischemia. The lab has access to the facilities of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in Trieste, including the AAV Vector Unit for the generation of AAV vectors for gene delivery.
Over the past years, we have extensively used AAV vectors to deliver therapeutic genes in pre-clinical models of myocardial infarction and heart failure, with the goal of inducing the formation of new blood vessels, protect the cardiac tissue from ischemic damage and regenerate the myocardium.
Serena Zacchigna
Group Leader
She obtained her degree in Medicine in 2000 from the University of Trieste and her PhD in Molecular Genetics in 2005 from the International School of Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy. In 2006 she was awarded a Marie-Curie post-doctoral research fellow in Peter Carmeliet Laboratory at VIB in Leuven (Belgium) to work on the neurovascular link.
In 2009 she returned to Trieste, where she established her own research group in 2015. At the ICGEB she currently leads the Cardiovascular Biology Laboratory and represents the Institute at the UN Committee for Bioethics. Since 2019 she has joined the University of Trieste as Associate Professor.
Her research interests focus on the crosstalk between multiple cell types in heart development and disease. In particular, she is dissecting the mechanisms mediating the communication between endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes, with the ultimate goal of promoting effective neo-vascularization and cardiac regeneration following heart ischemia.
Further information: https://www.icgeb.org/cardiovascular-biology/
