Dr Giovanni Pietrogrande
European Leukodystrophies Association (ELA) Fellow
Wolvetang Lab
(07) 3346 4287
Giovanni’s main focus is to develop synthetic biology applications for neurodegenerative diseases
Dr Giovanni Pietrogrande is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. After he obtained his Masters in biotechnology, he started his path in research, first in the field of cancer biology and later in genome editing. He then obtained a PhD in anatomy at the University of Newcastle, where he investigated new and promising therapeutical interventions to improve the recovery of stroke survivors. Currently, at the AIBN, Dr Giovanni Pietrogrande integrates his experience as a neuroscientist and molecular biologist to ask new, exciting questions to unravel neurodegenerative diseases.
Industry
Project 'Mammoth meatballs', in collaboration with Vow
Exemplification of new and safer gene editing tools for cultured meat production in Australia, in collaboration with Vow
Funding
UQ Early Career Researcher Development: Knowledge Exchange & Translation (Kx&T) Fund Award. Exemplification of new and safer gene editing tools for cultured meat production in Australia. CI-A, 2022, 46.000 AUD
European Leukodystrophies Association (ELA) Fellowship. 2022-2024, 249.830 AUD
MS Australia Incubator grant. CI-C, 2021, 25.000 AUD
IMPACT funding grant, Perpetual. CI-B, 2022, 91.277 AUD
NHMRC Ideas Grant. CI-B, 2023-2026, 1.350.000 AUD
INDUSTRY COLLABORATIONS
Contract of research with VOW Food, 2021, 20.000 AUD
Contract of research with VOW Food, 2022-2023, 30.000 AUD
Contract of research with AZAFAROS, 2022-2023, 250.000 AUD
Key Publications
Low oxygen post conditioning prevents thalamic secondary neuronal loss caused by excitotoxicity after cortical stroke. Pietrogrande G, Zalewska K, Zhao Z, Abdolhoseini M, Chow WZ, Sanchez-Bezanilla S, Ong LK, Johnson SJ, Nilsson M, Walker FR. Sci Rep. 2019 Mar 19;9(1):4841. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-39493-8.
Low Oxygen Post Conditioning as an Efficient Non-pharmacological Strategy to Promote Motor Function After Stroke. Pietrogrande G, Zalewska K, Zhao Z, Johnson SJ, Nilsson M, Walker FR. Transl Stroke Res. 2018 Aug 28. doi: 10.1007/s12975-018-0656-5. [Epub ahead of print]
Growth Hormone Improves Cognitive Function After Experimental Stroke. Ong LK, Chow WZ, TeBay C, Kluge M, Pietrogrande G, Zalewska K, Crock P, Åberg ND, Bivard A, Johnson SJ, Walker FR, Nilsson M, Isgaard J. Stroke. 2018 May;49(5):1257-1266. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.117.020557. Epub 2018 Apr 10.
Urokinase Receptor Promotes Skin Tumor Formation by Preventing Epithelial Cell Activation of Notch1. Mazzieri R, Pietrogrande G, Gerasi L, Gandelli A, Colombo P, Moi D, Brombin C, Ambrosi A, Danese S, Mignatti P, Blasi F, D'Alessio S. Cancer Res. 2015 Nov 15;75(22):4895-909. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-15-0378. Epub 2015 Nov 2.
VEGF-C-dependent stimulation of lymphatic function ameliorates experimental inflammatory bowel disease. D'Alessio S, Correale C, Tacconi C, Gandelli A, Pietrogrande G, Vetrano S, Genua M, Arena V, Spinelli A, Peyrin-Biroulet L, Fiocchi C, Danese S. J Clin Invest. 2014 Sep;124(9):3863-78. doi: 10.1172/JCI72189. Epub 2014 Aug 8.