People
Graziano Martello
Graziano earned a PhD in Genetics and Developmental Biology at the University of Padova and in 2010 moved to Cambridge University to study pluripotency in Austin Smith’s laboratory. In 2014 he moved back to Italy and established his independent research laboratory with the support of the Armenise-Harvard and Telethon foundation. When not busy thinking about pluripotent cells, Graziano likes to play the bass, listen to music and play board games with friends.
Elena Carbognin
Elena obtained her PhD in Genetics and Developmental Biology at the University of Padova. She then studied neurodegenerative diseases using Drosophila melanogaster as a model system at the University of Cambridge, UK. She joined the Martello lab as a postdoctoral researcher in 2014, where she investigates the molecular mechanisms conducting the exit from naive state in mouse embryonic stem cells. She has a passion for travelling and gourmet food.
Linda Diamante
Linda earned a bachelor's degree in Biotechnology and a master's Degree in Medical Biotechnologies at the University of Padova. She joined the Martello lab for her master's thesis in 2018, when she began to explore the crosstalk between metabolism and epigenetics in mouse embryonic stem cells. She started a PhD in Molecular Medicine in 2019, following up on the same research path. She is passionate about visual arts and criminology, and she enjoys playing volley.
Anna Gambetta
Anna graduated in Biotechnology at the University of Padova and carried out her Master's thesis at the Global Institute for Food Security (Canada) working on plant reproduction and evolutionary genomics. After graduation, she earned a scholarship at the Laboratory of Genomics for Breeding (DAFNAE department, University of Padova). She joined the Martello lab as a PhD student in Molecular Medicine in 2019. The aim of her research project is to discover novel therapeutic targets for a neurodegenerative disorder, the Huntington's disease, through a genome-wide screening in pluripotent stem cells followed by in vivo validation in Zebrafish and mouse models. In her spare time she enjoys hiking with her dogs, snowboarding and photography.
Giada Rossignoli
Giada obtained her PhD in Molecular Medicine, curriculum Biochemistry, at the University of Verona. She then moved to University College London (London, UK) to study neurometabolic disorders using induced pluripotent stem cells-derived models. She joined the Martello lab as a postdoctoral researcher in 2022, to explore how metabolism affects the transcriptome and epigenome of human pluripotent stem cells. She likes travelling and reading novels, but eating good food is her greatest passion.
Sonia Amato
Sonia obtained her master's degree in Medical Biotechnologies, at the University of Padova. In 2021, she joined the Martello Lab for her master thesis, during which she worked on the generation of human neural progenitor cells (NPCs) to model Huntington disease (HD). From 2023, she started a PhD in Neuroscience under the supervision of Prof. Angelo Antonini, Prof. Graziano Martello and Prof. Elisa Greggio, to continue her studies upon modelling and testing of novel therapeutic approaches for neurodegenerative diseases, like HD, PD and AD. In her spare time, she loves cooking and reading books.
Clelia Corridori
Clelia obtained her bachelor’s degree in Physics at the University of Insubria. Then she earned a scholarship at the University of Insubria and her research work was part of the Random Power Project. She graduated in Physics of Data at the University of Padova. This master degree allowed her to combine theoretical background in Statistical Mechanics with high-level training in Data Science. She did her master’s thesis in computational neuroscience at the LIPh Lab, at the University of Padova. She joined the Martello Lab in 2022. She likes theatre shows, road trips with her motorbike and reading books.
Rachele Ghirardo
Rachele obtained her bachelor's degree in Biology and her master's degree in evolutionary biology, both at the University of Padova.Then, she earned a post master fellowship where she studied regeneration in zebrafish. She joined Martello Lab in 2023 as a PhD student in Biosciences where she studies gene therapy approaches against poly glutamine disorders, such as Huntighton's disease, in brain organoids. In her spare time she likes vintage markets and analog photography.
Davide Benvegnù
Davide earned his Master's Degree in Industrial Biotechnologies at the University of Padova. He joined the Martello lab in 2022 as a research fellow, his studies concern the characterization of early differentiation in mES cells by using 3D in vitro models of self-organization. During his free time, he likes to play sports and be in nature.
Giorgia Panebianco
Giorgia obtained her bachelor's degree in Biology and she is currently attending her master's degree in Molecular biology, at the University of Padua. She joined Martello's lab in 2023 to conduct her internship studying the role of LIF in human pluripotent stem cells during chemical resetting. In her free time, she enjoys going on excursions in the company of her closest friends, growing plants and eating good food.
Chiara Pratissoli
Chiara obtained her degree in Biology at the University of Parma, in 2021. She is attending Molecular Biology at the University of Parma and in April 2023 she joined Martello lab for her master's thesis. During this period she is investigating Tdark genes involved in Huntington's disease. During her free time she likes photography and hiking.
Sofia Mazzoleni
Sofia obtained her Ph.D. in Ecology at the Charles University, in Prague. Her research was focused on the evolution of sex chromosomes and sex determination in several lineages of reptiles. She joined the Martello Lab as lab manager in 2023. She loves road trips, instant film cameras, and exotic animals.
Alumni
Stefano Ciaco, Post-doctoral fellow, 2022-2023
Elena Guerzoni, Graduate fellow, 2022-2023
Rosalba Cipriani, Master student, 2021-2022
Martina Chieregato, Master student 2020, graduate fellow 2021-2022
Andrea Drusin, Master student, 2020-2022 (now at Resnova, Padova, Italy)
Riccardo Massimiliano Betto, Ph.D. student, 2014-2017, PostDoc 2017-2021 (now at Futurlab, Padua, Italy)
Mattia Arboit, Post-doctoral fellow, 2016-2021 (now at Evotec, Verona, Italy)
Irene Zorzan, Ph.D student, 2014-2021 (now at Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK)
Marco Pellegrini, Post-doctoral fellow, 2014-2019 (now at UCL, London, UK)
Giorgia Ferlazzo, Ph.D. student, 2014-2019 (now at INGM, Milan, Italy)
Valentina Perrera, Post-doctoral fellow, 2017-2019 (now at SISSA, Trieste, Italy)
Silvia Angiolillo, master student, 2018-2019 (now at VIMM, Padua, Italy)
Cristina Malucelli, master student, 2017-2018 (now at COPAN WASP, Mantua, Italy)
Stefano Giulitti, Post-doctoral fellow, 2017-2018 (now at UNISMART, Padua, Italy)
Noemi Cannizzaro, graduate fellow, 2019-2020
Irene Paolucci, graduate fellow, 2019-2020