Giovanni Pietrogrande

Dr Giovanni Pietrogrande obtained his PhD from the University of Newcastle. Here he explored how different brain processes are affected by the activation of microglia, the immune cells resident within our brain. In particular his work shows that microglia mediated inflammation has a pivotal role in neuronal loss following brain ischemic injury, and in his work he developed and proposed a new, efficient and translatable treatment for the prevention of neuronal death called Low Oxygen Post Conditioning.

In late 2019 he joined the Stem Cell Engineering lab at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Queensland. Now he uses and improves cutting-edge techniques for CRISPR-Cas9 mediated gene editing to modify the genome of induced pluripotent stem cells and generate brain and spinal cord organoids to model neurological diseases and evaluate potential treatments.

Dr. Pietrogrande has also established collaborations with biotechs and startups, employing genetic engineering to modify cells for product development and organoid-based compound screening. Additionally, he provides consultancy services for Stemcore and Phenomics Australia, both UQ-based facilities, driving advancements in stem cell research.