Giulio Alfredo Sancini

Prof. G Sancini Associate Professor in Physiology, SMS-UNIMIB, POLARIS Centre, NANOMIB Centre and NEUROMI Centre; world-renowned in physiology, environmental science, nanotoxicology and translational nanomedicine research; widely published (over 71 research articles) with h-index of 35 and 3,253 citations  (SCOPUS as of April 2025); trained PhD students/research staff and postdocs in large-scale projects funded through National research funding bodies, EU-FP7 Large-Scale NMP (NAD) and EU-FP6 (BONSAI). He is heading the Human Physiology Lab at the School of Medicine and Surgery of University of Milano Bicocca.

ONGOING RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

– Assessment of functional alterations of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) related to Alzheimer’s disease and related to the ischemic and hypoxic events

– Interaction of engineered nanoparticles and air pollutants at the Neurovascular Unit and CNS

– Assessment of the permeability and bio-distribution of engineered nanoparticles for drug targeting the central nervous system in in vitro BBB models and in vivo

– Assessment of pulmonary and systemic health adverse effects of particulate air pollution (PM) exposure in in vivo models: study of the mechanisms related to the translocation of PM through the alveolar-capillary barrier, identification of new markers of risk.

– Respiratory bio-mechanics related to fluid dynamic alterations during pulmonary interstitial edema

– Transmembrane voltage-gated currents and postsynaptic potentials in cultured neurons and in cerebral slices incubated in vitro.

Topics for PhD Research Projects:

• Electrophysiological studies to explore the effects of airborne pollution, with a focus on particulate matter (PM), on central nervous system (CNS) elements and on CNS homeostasis focusing on the predominant regulators of neuro-inflammation, transmembrane currents, neuro-transmitter release and synaptic plasticity and recurring hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases.
• Electrophysiological and functional imaging studies to explore the effects of micro- and nano-plastics exposure along the gut-brain and lung brain axis, shedding a light on the health adverse effects related to micro and nano-plastic biodistribution and accumulation in targeted organs and tissues, with a specific focus on the brain physiology

 

ACTIVE COLLABORATIONS

• M. Discovery Group Limited (SMDG), with headquarters at Durham. in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: SMDG Company and Human Physiology Lab wish to collaborate together in order to undertake study and research in the field of neuroscience and utilising patent protected therapeutic platforms of SMDG for better understanding of the neurological diseases
• CNR: active ongoing research activities in collaboration with Dott. Claudia Verdrio for the study of the effects of extracellular vesicles of cerebral origin on synaptic activity in cell cultures.
• UniBO: ongoing research activities in collaboration with Prof. Paolo Blasi of the Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology of the University of Bologna for in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility and bio distribution studies of new nano-based drug delivery systems for the target brain therapy.
• UniCT: active research collaboration with Prof. Teresa Musumeci focusing on i) design, preparation, characterization and optimization of nanocarrier for drug delivery; ii) new copolymers to obtain colloidal drug carrier; iii) thermal analysis to study drug-biomembrane models interaction and nanotechnology for anticancer therapy and for neurological diseases; (iiii) nose to brain delivery.

ADDITIONAL INFO

Link to LinkedIn profile: https://it.linkedin.com/in/giulio-sancini-6436b136