Our Team
Meet the brilliant minds driving innovation in MiMic technology and microfluidic systems research.
Principal Investigators
Prof. Marco Rasponi
Full Professor
Full Professor at DEIB, Politecnico di Milano. Founder and director of the MiMic Lab, co-founder of BiomimX. Expert in microfluidic technologies and organs-on-chip.
Prof. Paola Occhetta
Associate Professor
Associate Professor at DEIB, Politecnico di Milano, and CEO & co-founder of BiomimX. Expert in organ-on-chip platforms integrating microfluidics, complex cell culture and AI for disease modelling and drug development.
Team Members
Dr. Cecilia Palma
Scientific Project Manager
PhD in Bioengineering from Politecnico di Milano, specializing in organs-on-chip for joint disorders. Currently Scientific Project Manager at MiMic Lab, coordinating national and European collaborative projects.
Dr. Alberto Mantegazza
Assistant Professor
Assistant Professor at DEIB, Politecnico di Milano. His research centers on Organs-on-Chip technologies and microscale fluid dynamics, with a focus on smart mechanically active platforms.
Stefania Brambilla
Lab Manager
Graduated in Biology Applied to Biomedical Research at the University of Milan. Lab Manager at MiMic Lab, responsible for daily research activities, laboratory organization, inventory management and procurement.
Dr. Mattia Ballerini
PostDoc Researcher
PhD cum laude in Bioengineering from Politecnico di Milano. Postdoctoral Fellow at MiMic Lab developing innovative Organ-on-Chip platforms, with a primary focus on cardiac models.
Dr. Paola Lagonegro
PostDoc Researcher
Research focus on advanced microfluidic platforms and organ-on-chip systems.
Dr. Rahimeh Atashgah
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellow
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellow developing nanomedicine therapies using advanced melanoma cancer-on-chip models.
Dr. Sofia Belardinelli
PostDoc Researcher
Postdoctoral researcher at DEIB, Politecnico di Milano. Works on the PHOENIX project, analysing the epistemological and ethical challenges related to the acceptability of Non-Animal Models (NAMs) in biomedical research.
Alessandro Cordiale
PhD Student
PhD candidate developing microfluidic models of epithelial-endothelial barriers for drug discovery and preclinical testing.
Giacomo Cretti
PhD Student
PhD student in Bioengineering at Politecnico di Milano, working on vascularized spheroids and tumor-on-chip systems.
Elisa Monti
PhD Student
PhD candidate investigating signaling pathways altered by cartilage mechanical dysregulation during osteoarthritis in a cartilage-on-chip model.
Alessandro Cacioppo
PhD Student
PhD student focused on the development of advanced heart-on-chip models at the MiMic Lab.
Bianca Aterini
PhD Student
PhD student developing next-generation lung-on-chip platforms to investigate the impact of environmental hazards on lung health.
Teresa Lucifora
PhD Student
PhD candidate focused on mechanobiologically driven modeling of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis within a multicompartment Lung-on-Chip platform.
Sophie Véronique Materne
PhD Student
PhD student developing a mechanically-active cartilage-on-chip model with real-time on-chip monitoring to explore mechanically driven chondrogenesis.
Elia Pennati
PhD Student
PhD candidate working on a bone marrow-on-chip microfluidic device for early detection of lung cancer relapses.
Asia Muraca
PhD Student
Fascinated by research since childhood, I was drawn to explore the still mysterious world of neuroscience. When I'm not in the lab, I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen or spending time outdoors, often chasing my next extreme sport adventure.
Marina Pata
PhD Student
PhD candidate in Bioengineering at DEIB, Politecnico di Milano. Her research focuses on developing a vascularized glioblastoma-on-chip platform to model the tumor microenvironment.
Sonia Peddio
PhD Student
PhD student working on cardiac and vascular tissue models in collaboration with Politecnico di Milano and Humanitas University.
Viola Antonello
PhD Student
PhD candidate developing integrated pumping systems for organ-on-chip models to recreate physiological conditions in vitro.
Federico Volpato
PhD Student
PhD student developing lung-on-chip models for chronic lung diseases, particularly asthma.
Alumni
Our former team members have gone on to pursue successful careers in academia, industry, and research institutions worldwide.