Laurea in Medicina e Specializzazione in Medicina Interna presso l’Università Cattolica / Policlinico Gemelli di Roma. Successivamente responsabile di Amoliscientifica e Amplaid (Gruppo Amplifon), Oxford Instruments Medical Italia e UK, Paso, Bosch Security Systems e Bosch Energy Solutions (Gruppo Bosch).

Michele Conti is Full Professor of Bioengineering at the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAr) of the University of Pavia (UniPV).

Michele obtained a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2007 and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering and Bioinformatics from the University of Pavia – joint diploma with Ghent University – in 2010.

He is the PI of ERC CoG 2023 project (Redesigning aortic endograft:  Enabling in-situ PErsonalIzed aneUrySm healing – EPEIUS – grant n. 101125466 – HI: UniPV).

He has close collaborations with national and international clinical Institutions, acting as unit leader of several ‘Ricerca Finalizzata’ projects funded of Italian Ministry of Health and also affiliated as research bioeng. unit leader in a research hospital (IRCCS PSD-Milan). Moreover, he was recipient of ESC Research Grant in 2016 and Livanova Donations&Grants in 2019. In 2010, his PhD thesis was selected as the Italian candidate for the ECCOMAS Award for the Best PhD Theses. In 2014, he received the Kiefer Prize at 6th International Congress Aortic Surgery. He is reviewer for several journals in the field of biomechanics.

Major research interests are the numerical simulation of minimally-invasive cardiovascular devices, the development of informatics tools for medical imaging analysis, experimental set-up for in-vitro tests of endovascular devices, isogeometric analysis for biomechanics, and 3D printing/additive manufacturing for biomedical applications.

He has 105 scientific papers on peer-reviewed international journals, and 5 book chapters. H-index of 27 on Scopus, over 2200 citations on Scopus.

He serves as the Secretary General of the European Society of Biomechanics and is the treasurer of the Italian Society for Bioengineering (GNB).

Francesco Sturla was born in 1986. He is a bioengineer with a Master degree in Biomedical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano (Milano, Italy); in 2015 he received the PhD in Cardiovascular Sciences from Università degli Studi di Verona (Verona, Italy) with a study focusing on the numerical assessment of surgical techniques for degenerative mitral valve regurgitation.

He has a strong background and personal interest in cardiovascular biomechanics. Research activity mainly concerns the numerical analysis of the biomechanical relevant aspects for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. His research also focuses on advanced cardiovascular image processing and 3D printing technology for patient-tailored personalized planning of cardiovascular interventions through exploitation of several diagnostic techniques, including computerized tomography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

He authored more than 50 publications in peer-reviewed international journals (H-index 18 and 900+ citations on Scopus). He is Associate Editor for the scientific journal Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine within the Cardiovascular Imaging section and regularly serves as reviewer for international journals. He is member of the European Society of Biomechanics

Antonio Rosato was born in 1990. He is a researcher and biomedical engineer with an academic background between the University of Pavia and La Sapienza University of Rome. His bachelor’s thesis concerned the development of a parametric model based on computerized tomography images and finite element analyses to evaluate the behavior of anomalous coronary arteries under different stress conditions. He collaborated with the University of Pavia as a research scholar working on patient-specific computational modeling, endovascular devices and cardiovascular diseases.

He is currently employed as a research engineer at the 3D and Computer Simulation Laboratory at the IRCCS Policlinico San Donato. His research activity focuses on medical image processing and on the use of biomechanical simulations in the cardiovascular field, mainly for aorto-coronary pathologies. His interests also include the application of 3D printing technologies for planning surgical and interventional procedures

Nicoletta Curcio was born in 1996. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Bioengeneering from the University of Pavia.

Her master thesis has concerned the development of methods of image processing and computational analysis for the assessment of vulnerable atheroma plaques in carotid arteries. She continued her studies on preoperative identification of the histologically vulnerable plaque using non-invasive imaging and numerical simulations as a research fellow at the University of Pavia since April 2022. Her collaboration with IRCCS Policlinico San Donato started in January 2022 and now she is currently working at the 3D Computational Simulation Lab. Her main research fields involved computational and experimental biomechanical analysis of the cardiovascular system.

She is working on an ad-hoc benchmark developed to test performances of different surgical and transcatheter valve prostheses in degenerative stenotic aortic valves

Fabio Morelli was born in 1998. He obtained his master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano in May 2023. His master’s thesis focused on the design and development of a wearable ultrasound device for neuro-oncologic therapy and imaging. The project was conducted at the biomedical companies In.Tra. srl and LinkMed srl, where he conceived, designed, and realized the device, involving consultation with neurosurgeons and testing at the National Research Centre in Rome. He spent one year as a Biomechanical Researcher fellow affiliated with the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) and Politecnico di Milano. His research there focused on computational fluid dynamics within the cardiac district, specifically on Atrial Septal Defect. He also participated in various projects where 3D printing was used to create patient-specific phantoms for surgical planning and training. In November 2024, he began a collaboration with IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, where he is currently conducting research at the 3D Computational Simulation Lab. His current work centers on the aortic fluid dynamics in pathological cases, with an additional focus on the development of vascular phantom models to aid in training for aortic transcatheter procedures.

Fabio Pappalardo was born in 1996. He obtained the bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano in July 2018, with a thesis aimed at obtaining a preliminary validation of Doppler ultrasound for the measurement of fluid dynamic quantities in the field of experimental biomechanics. In April 2021, he received his master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano. His master thesis focused on the development of a device, patented in 2023, for treatment of tricuspid regurgitation and on the CT-based anatomical feasibility assessment of performing a minimally invasive transthoracic access as implantation procedure. After his master’s degree, he worked as a research assistant in the field of experimental cardiovascular biomechanics. Currently, he is a PhD student at Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with Policlinico San Donato where is focusing his research on the development of in vitro systems for research, technology development and training in cardiovascular applications.

Sofia Di Filippo was born in 2000. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Engineering from Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata in February 2022.

In December 2024, she received her Master’s Degree from Politecnico di Milano with a thesis on computational biomechanics, focusing on the development of a deep learning model for the evaluation of patient-specific axial stresses on the ascending aorta to assess dissection risk.

She is currently working as a bioengineer at the 3D Computational Simulation Lab at IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, contributing to the TRANSLATE project, which aims to phenotype left ventricle failure through hemodynamic biomarkers derived from 4D Flow magnetic resonance imaging. In particular, her work focuses on the development of a deep learning model for automated LV endocardial segmentation of MRI images.

Matteo Pitton was born in 1995. He spent his academic studies in Politecnico di Milano, achieving his Bachelor (2017) and his Master degree (2020) in Biomedical Engineering. He continued his formation in Politecnico by enrolling the XXXVI PhD programme in Bioengineering, successfully defending cum laude his thesis titled Design of 3D in vitro models mimicking healthy and tumoral breast tissues in 2025, supervised by Professor Silvia Farè and Lorenza Draghi in the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering G. Natta.

During his PhD, he built a strong background in biomaterials, especially in natural-derived polymeric hydrogels, used and combined to develop 3D in vitro models for human soft tissues, both in healthy and tumoral condition. His scientific activity ranged from the initial conceptualization of the models to their effective bio-fabrication and characterization in mechanical and biological terms. After the PhD, he started a Research Fellowship in San Raffaele Hospital (2024-2025), tutored by Professor Cristina Scielzo, head of the Malignant B cells biology and 3D modelling Unit. During this year, he strengthened his knowledge in 3D bioprinting, successfully employed to obtain 3D in vitro models of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia microenvironment.

The possibility to spend his formation in Politecnico di Milano and in San Raffaele Hospital allowed him to acquire a scientific point of view which couples an engineering approach with a more clinical perspective of the research activity. He currently works as Bioengineer in the new 3D Bioprinting Laboratory of the C3DLab. His research focuses now on 3D bioprinting for cardiac and aortic tissues.

Adele Chiavetta was born in 2000. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Bioengineering from the University of Pavia in September 2022. In July 2025, she completed her Master’s Degree at the University of Pavia with a thesis in the field of experimental biomechanics, focusing on the design and development of a bench-top simulator to reproduce patient-specific coronary hemodynamics under different physiological conditions.

She is currently working as a bioengineer at the 3D Computational Simulation Lab at IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, contributing to the SMART project, which aims to develop an automated, AI-driven framework for patient-specific risk stratification in individuals with anomalous aortic origin of the coronary arteries (AAOCA), integrating biomechanical simulations using finite element analysis.

Andrea Lazzaro was born in 1992. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from the University of Milano-Bicocca in November 2022, with a thesis on the regulation of the inflammatory response in IBD through a genetically modified biological circuit. In March 2025, he received his master’s degree in Industrial Biotechnology from the University of Milano-Bicocca. His master’s thesis focused on 3D bioprinting, particularly on the optimization of printing with self-assembling peptides and murine neural stem cells for spinal cord injury repair, under the supervision of Dr. Fabrizio Gelain and Dr. Chiara Malloggi at the Centre for Nanomedicine and Tissue Engineering, Niguarda Hospital. This thesis work was published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry B. He currently works as a Research Fellow in the new 3D Bioprinting Laboratory at C3DLab. His current research focuses on 3D bioprinting for cardiac and aortic tissues.

Gloria Palazzo was born in 1999. She completed both her Bachelor’s (2022) and Master’s degrees (2024) in Biomedical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano.  Her Master’s thesis specialized in the evaluation of mass transport within multi-infusion neonatal setups; during this project, she developed a custom graphical user interface (GUI) designed to help clinicians visualize and predict patient-specific infusion dynamics.

She is currently working as a bioengineer at the 3D Computational Simulation Lab at IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, contributing to the TRANSLATE project, which aims to phenotype left ventricle failure through hemodynamic biomarkers derived from 4D Flow magnetic resonance imaging. In particular, her work focuses on the generation of Pressure-Volume (PV) loops to develop a non-invasive tool for assessing cardiac function.

Emiliano Votta is Associate Professor at Politecnico di Milano, in the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering (DEIB). He is a member of the Biomechanics Research Group at DEIB (www.biomech.polimi.it), he coordinates the activities of the Computational Biomechanics Laboratory at DEIB and he was the head of the 3D Computational Simulation Lab at IRCCS Policlinico San Donato until early 2023.
He recently coordinated of the EU-funded project ARTERY, which successfully concluded in September 2024, and he is the local PI of the MERLIN project funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, and the local co-PI of the CAL.HUB.RIA. project funded by the Italian Ministry of Health.
His research activity leverages numerical modelling, image analysis, artificial intelligence techniques and mixed reality to develop pre- and intra-procedural support tools for clinicians. He applies these technologies to cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology, as well as in the field of neurosurgery.
It has produced around 200 publications, including 85 full papers accepted or published in international peer-reviewed scientific journals. He is among the co-founders of Artiness srl (www.artinessreality.com), a spin-off company stemmed from Politecnico di Milano and devoted to the development of mixed reality solutions for interventional cardiology. He is also one of the co-inventors of a filed Italian patent

Alberto Redaelli is Full Professor in Bioengineering at Politecnico di Milano. He obtained the Ph.D. in Bioengineering in 1995 at Politecnico di Milano. In 2014, following postdoctoral and tenured professor positions, he was promoted to Professor in Biomechanics in the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering. Currently, he serves as the Chair of the Bioengineering Division.
He has founded and coordinates the Research Group on Biomechanics (www.biomech.polimi.it) of the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering. Over his academic life, he has mainly focused on the development of new enabling tools, with the aim of finding new solutions to biological and clinical problems. His research is mainly in the field of cardiovascular biomechanics and biofluid dynamics, both experimentally and computationally, and embrace pioneering studies on fluid structure interaction approaches, design of innovative cardiovascular devices and prostheses, and valve mechanics studies with emphasis on patient specific modeling from imaging data. In recent years, his research interests have been extended to smaller scales to include molecular modeling of molecular motors and collagen, and microfluidics for the study of blood damage mechanics and myocardial tissue physiopathology.
Alberto Redaelli has published 250+ ISI peer reviewed journal papers (Scopus H-index 48, 9000+ citations); he has been local coordinator of 1 Marie Curie project and two STREP projects in FP6, and 1 ICT-VPH project and one IRSES Marie Curie in FP7. Currently, he is the coordinator of 1 Marie Curie ITN project and local coordinator of one RISE project in H2020. Finally, he is the inventor of 18 patents (starting from 2001), 9 of which have been transferred to companies. He is co-founder of two Politecnico spin-off companies, BiomimX (2017) and Artiness (2018).
BiomimX (www.biomimx.com) develops clinically relevant in vitro models of human organs and pathologies for testing drug and medical devices.
Artiness (www.artinessreality.com) develops holographic applications for healthcare.