Press release -
The "TechnoBiology" labs launched at the Politecnico di Milano: two new laboratories where engineers and biologists will work together on cutting edge research in the field of life sciences
The new experimental unit built at the Politecnico di Milano within the ERC project "MINERVA"of Horizon 2020
Milan, October 17 2019 - Two new laboratories of the Politecnico di Milano, "MINERVA" and "ATHENA", called "TechnoBiology" labs, have been officially presented today to the scientific community.
The main purpose of the TechnoBiology labs is the realization of forefront technological devices and cellular models for the study of biochemical mechanisms that involve multiple organs and biological systems of our body, both in physiological and pathological conditions.
This is the case of the microbiota-gut-brain axis, the set of pathwaysthat link the intestinal bacterial flora (microbiota) and the functioning of our brain, topic ofthe ERCproject MINERVA, funded with 2 million Eurosby the European Community within theHorizon 2020 ERC Consolidator Grant 2016 call, which allowed the set-up of the two laboratories.
The laboratories, fully equipped withup-to-date instruments, will promote interaction between engineers and researchers working inLife Sciences field for the development of organ-on-a-chip devices capable of hosting advanced in vitro models based on cells (Laboratory MINERVA) and bacteria (ATHENA Laboratory) grown both in 2D or 3D.
"In our vision"states Carmen Giordano, Principal Investigator of the ERC project MINERVAand leader of the TechnoBiology labs, "this new experimental unit willbecome a virtuous example of an interdisciplinary working area whereengineers, biologists, biotechnologists and cliniciansoperate together to tackle new, complex technological and scientific challenges. The scope of the ERC project MINERVA is the first example: to create an engineered platform that allows the study of the impact of the intestinal microbiota on the functioning of our brain has potential significant impact for highly debilitating neurodegenerative diseases, that nowadayscanrely only on symptomatic andpalliative therapies”.
The achievement of one of the main objectives of the MINERVA project is recent: the realization of the firstprototype of the organ-on-a-chip device, basic unit of the MINERVA platform, necessary to model in vitrothe organs and biological systems involved in the cross-talkbetween our intestinal microbiota and the brain.
The TechnoBiology labs, with an extension of 100 square meters, are hosted in the Leonardo Campus on the second floor of the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta” of thePolitecnico of Milan (Italy) where they join the existing MechanoBiology labs,directed by Manuela T. Raimondi who coordinates three ERC projects, ina newresearch area collectively called Biology labs.
On the day of the inauguration, the research vice-chancellor Prof.ssa Donatella Sciuto, the Director of the "Giulio Natta" Department Prof. Maurizio Masi, Prof.ssa Manuela T. Raimondi and Prof.ssa Carmen Giordano presented the new laboratories to theaudience and Prof. Pasquale Striano, medical director of IRCSS “G. Gaslini” of Genova, spoke of still unresolvedclinical problemsinvolving the cross-talk between intestinal microbiota and brain function in which a strongly interdisciplinary approach could make the difference.
“This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 724734)”.
Topics
Politecnico di Milano is a scientific-technological university which trains engineers, architects and industrial designers.
The University has always focused on the quality and innovation of its teaching and research, developing a fruitful relationship with business and productive world by means of experimental research and technological transfer.
Research has always been linked to didactics and it is a priority commitment which has allowed Politecnico Milano to achieve high quality results at an international level as to join the university to the business world. Research constitutes a parallel path to that formed by cooperation and alliances with the industrial system.
Knowing the world in which you are going to work is a vital requirement for training students. By referring back to the needs of the industrial world and public administration, research is facilitated in following new paths and dealing with the need for constant and rapid innovation. The alliance with the industrial world, in many cases favored by Fondazione Politecnico and by consortiums to which Politecnico belong, allows the university to follow the vocation of the territories in which it operates and to be a stimulus for their development.
The challenge which is being met today projects this tradition which is strongly rooted in the territory beyond the borders of the country, in a relationship which is developing first of all at the European level with the objective of contributing to the creation of a single professional training market. Politecnico takes part in several research, sites and training projects collaborating with the most qualified European universities. Politecnico's contribution is increasingly being extended to other countries: from North America to Southeast Asia to Eastern Europe. Today the drive to internationalization sees Politecnico Milano taking part into the European and world network of leading technical universities and it offers several courses beside many which are entirely taught in English.
