Gruppo guidato da Stefania Raimondo (facente funzioni di Stefano Geuna, Rettore UniTo)
Stefano Geuna
Rector of the University of Turin, Full Professor in Human Anatomy
Stefania Raimondo
Full Professor in Human Anatomy
Giovanna Gambarotta
Associate Professor in Comparative Anatomy and Cytology
Giulia Ronchi
Associate Professor in Human Anatomy
Federica Fregnan
Research technician
Luisa Muratori
Research Assistant RTD-A
Marwa El Soury
PostDoc Research fellowPhD Students & Junior Fellows
Francesca Bertone
I joined the team of scientists working on peripheral nerve regeneration in the Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences at the University of Turin in December 2023, thanks to a scholarship from the University of Turin. I then began my PhD in “Experimental Medicine and Therapy” in February 2024, with the aim of studying the role of the protein Beclin1 in myelin maintenance and peripheral nerve regeneration. Before joining the group, I worked as a QA Batch Record & Investigation Specialist at Thermo Fisher Scientific in Monza, from September 2022 to November 2023. Prior to that, I completed a four-month research experience from April 2022 to July 2022 in Braga, Portugal, at ICVS – Life and Health Sciences Research Institute, under the supervision of Professor João Filipe Oliveira, thanks to an Erasmus+ Traineeship scholarship. In 2022, I obtained a MS in Medical Biotechnologies, and in 2019, a BS in Biological Sciences, both from the University of Turin.
The scientific activity primarily focuses on the experimental investigation of peripheral nerve fiber regeneration following basic injury models, such as the crush model, both with and without pharmacological treatment. It also includes exploring novel surgical techniques for nerve repair, such as tubulization using nerve guidance conduits, which may or may not be enriched with secretome. Additionally, the research involves studying spinal ganglion neurons from animals exposed to varying initial conditions.
Marina García Bejarano
Passionate about science, she pursued a B.Sc. in Biotechnology at Miguel Hernández University of Elche, finishing in 2018. Her interest in food biotechnology led her to an M.Sc. in Food Safety and Biotechnology in 2019. However, tissue engineering had always been her greatest passion, prompting her to complete an M.Sc. in Tissue Engineering and Advanced Therapies.
Her scientific interest led to roles as a technician for advanced therapy medicinal products in Sevilla, as a clinical lab technician analyzing COVID-19 samples at IMED Hospitals in Elche, and as technical research staff at the Biopathology and Regenerative Medicine Institute in Granada (Spain). Despite diverse lab experiences, regenerative medicine remained her focus, leading her to a Ph.D. in Neurosciences, with joint supervision between the University of Turin (Italy) and the University of Zaragoza (Spain). Her research explores nanoscale biomaterials and factors for nerve regeneration.
After delayed nerve repair, or in elderly patients, or when the gap is long, nerve regeneration within the conduits is not efficient. Therefore, she would like to investigate if there are specific factors that are differentially expressed between immediate and delayed nerve repair, in order to deliver them to improve nerve regeneration. Furthermore, silencing the expression of these genes could let to have further comprehension of the mechanisms involved in nerve regeneration.
Miriam Metafune
High school diploma in foreign languages, graduated in molecular biology at the University of Parma and nationally authorized to practice the profession of Biologist. After the Master’s degree, she won a competition for a research scholarship at the Human Anatomy Laboratory of the Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences of the University of Turin, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital. Currently, she is an Experimental medicine and therapy PhD student of the University of Turin.
Her research focuses on the study of new biomaterials that can promote peripheral nerve regeneration, using in vitro and ex vivo models of neurons and Schwann cells. Among the biomaterials she tests there are: maltodextrins and corn proteins electrospinned membranes, and extracellular matrices derived from cadaver human skin.
Giuliana Paravizzini
Giuliana Paravizzini earned her Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at Polytechnic of Turin in July 2024. She conducted her experimental master’s thesis at the Smart Bio-Interfaces Center of the Italian Institute of Technology, at Pontedera (PI). On January 2025, she won the “Nutrire i talenti” call issued by the Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi where she joined the research group of anatomy of Clinical and Biological Sciences Department of Università di Torino.
Her academic focus was centered on biomaterials and tissue engineering, with a particular emphasis on regenerative medicine. During her master thesis she worked on developing smart magnetic nanoparticles for the remote control of microglia activation toward the pro-inflammatory phenotype, exploring their potential as a therapeutic approach for glioblastoma (GBM).
Now, she is working on the characterization of innovative biomaterials to contribute to the development of strategies enhancing peripheral nerve regeneration.
Davide Pellegrino
Graduated in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Torino in April 2023. After the master’s degree, he won, in June 2023, a research fellowship at the Human Anatomy Laboratory of the Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences of the University of Turin, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital.
His research focuses on the study of the role of gut microbiota on peripheral nerve regeneration, concerning both in-vitro (focusing the attention on Short-Chain Fatty Acids treatments) and in-vivo experiments (Antibiotic treatments).
Simona Rando
Expertise: Developmental Neurobiology, Kallman Syndrome, Peripheral nerve regeneration
Simona Rando obtained the Bachelor Degree in Biological Sciences and the Master Degree in Molecular Biotechnology at the Università degli studi di Torino. She carried out an experimental thesis focused on the involvement of delayed GnRH neurons migration in Kallmann Syndrome. She subsequently continued on this project during an eight-months period of Research Fellowship in the same Neurodevelopmental Disorders research group, focusing also on cytoskeletal dynamic involvement in Intellectual disability. Her laboratory experience allows her to acquire mainly skills in cell cultures, mouse handling, histology and immunochemistry. Since November 1st Simona is a PhD student in Experimental Medicine and Therapy at the Università degli studi di Torino, working in the Peripheral nerve regeneration group with supervisor Pr. Stefania Raimondo.
The scientific activity primarily focuses on the experimental investigation of peripheral nerve in neuropathic context, particularly Diabetic Polyneuropathy. It includes exploring novel techniques for the establishment of hiPSC-derived in vitro model, with a focus on neuronal and glial cellular component.
