Dr. Enrico Domenico Lemma
Principal Investigator
I was born in 1989 and I currently hold a position as a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Materials Science and Technology at the Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma.
My academic background includes a MS degree in Materials Engineering at Università del Salento (2014) and a PhD in Materials and Structural Engineering and Nanotechnologies at Università del Salento (2018).
In 2019 i was awarded a two-year Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Karlsruhe, Germany), to develop novel strategies based on DNA coupling for triggering selective cell adhesion on 3D micro-structures.
I’m interested in exploring nonlinear absorption optical systems (e.g., multi-photon polymerization) for studying cell mechanobiology in 3D, and (bio)chemical and mechanical properties of innovative materials for 3D printing. I also make efforts to develop models to merge 3D microfabrication with microfluidics and organ-on-chip technologies.
Prof. Albero Rainer
Head of Research Unit Microsystems and Nanotechnologies
Born in 1976, he obtained a Degree in Materials Engineering from the University of Trieste (2002) and a PhD in Materials for the Environment and Energy from the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” (2007). In 2012, he was a Researcher in Chemical Foundations of Technologies (SSD CHIM/07) at theUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma. From 2018 to 2025, he is Associate Professor in Industrial Bioengineering (SSD ING-IND/34) at the same University. Since February 2025, he is Full Professor of Bioengineering (IBIO-01/A).
The research activity of prof. Rainer belongs to the field of engineered in vitro cell culture models, which exploit biofabrication techniques (additive manufacturing, organ-on-chip) and cells derived from iPSCs. His research activity also addresses topics related to mechanobiology, using engineered substrates to evaluate the mechanical response of cells to conformational stimuli.
Prof. Rainer is a founding member of the National Bioengineering Group, a member of the Scientific and Teaching Council of Centro3R (Interuniversity Center for the Promotion of the 3Rs in Teaching and Research), a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer of the Italian Organ-on-Chip Society (SIOoC). The scientific activity of prof. Rainer is documented by over 100 scientific articles (h-index 33, 3480 citations). He has been organizer of national and international conferences and invited speaker at numerous national and international scientific events.
His ability to exploit research results is demonstrated by a co-ownership patent UCBM / UCS Diagnostics (IT102016000111352 – Porous material for cytoinclusion, process for the obtaining thereof and its use. Italian patent granted; application for extension in EU, USA, Canada and India) currently licensed and marketed under the name “Cytomatrix”.