Letizia Lanzetti is Assistant Professor in Biochemistry at the University of Turin, Italy, and Group Leader of the Membrane Trafficking Laboratory at the Candiolo Cancer Institute. Her long-term research interest is the crosstalk between endocytosis and signaling in cancer cells. Her major contributions have been the identification of molecular mechanisms linking endocytosis and cell motility, and the role of endocytic molecules in mitosis.
Her most recent work focuses on the impact of membrane trafficking, regulated by RAB proteins, on the metabolic plasticity of breast cancers. This is pursued using orthogonal approaches involving metabolic screenings, gene expression analyses, correlation with relevant clinical-pathological features in breast cancer patients, and high resolution studies to define the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Letizia Lanzetti is Assistant Professor in Biochemistry at the University of Turin, Italy, and Group Leader of the Membrane Trafficking Laboratory at the Candiolo Cancer Institute. Her long-term research interest is the crosstalk between endocytosis and signaling in cancer cells. Her major contributions have been the identification of molecular mechanisms linking endocytosis and cell motility, and the role of endocytic molecules in mitosis.
Her most recent work focuses on the impact of membrane trafficking, regulated by RAB proteins, on the metabolic plasticity of breast cancers. This is pursued using orthogonal approaches involving metabolic screenings, gene expression analyses, correlation with relevant clinical-pathological features in breast cancer patients, and high resolution studies to define the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Seeing is believing; visual observations are a vital part of scientific studies. They are also key to the communication of science to the public and the participation of the public in the importance of scientific research and we use them to transmit knowledge and interpretation.
Direct observation of molecular events in vivo is a key goal of contemporary microscopy. Three recently developed forms of optical microscopy available in our laboratory -- Lattice Light Sheet Microscopy (LLSM), Lattice Light Sheet Microscopy optimized with Adaptive Optics (AO-LLSM) and focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) -- are poised to bridge the gap between molecules and cells, either as independent entities in culture, as components of organoids, or as components of living tissues. The richness and magnitude of the data over periods ranging from seconds to hours, create new challenges for obtaining quantitative representations of the observed dynamics and for deriving accurate and comprehensive models for the underlying mechanisms needed to address problems in cell physiology and vertebrate development.
Our research program combines these frontier optical-imaging modalities with Artificial Intelligence Deep and Machine Learning methods to examine cellular membrane remodeling processes exemplified by cell size regulation and organization of the ER during cell division, post mitotic formation of nuclear pores complexes, organelle biogenesis, generation of intraluminal vesicles in endosomes, endosomal traffic and endosomal escape, immune responsiveness, lipid homeostasis, cell-cell recognition, and the interaction dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 or other viruses with host cells during early stages of infection.

Seeing is believing; visual observations are a vital part of scientific studies. They are also key to the communication of science to the public and the participation of the public in the importance of scientific research and we use them to transmit knowledge and interpretation.
Direct observation of molecular events in vivo is a key goal of contemporary microscopy. Three recently developed forms of optical microscopy available in our laboratory -- Lattice Light Sheet Microscopy (LLSM), Lattice Light Sheet Microscopy optimized with Adaptive Optics (AO-LLSM) and focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) -- are poised to bridge the gap between molecules and cells, either as independent entities in culture, as components of organoids, or as components of living tissues. The richness and magnitude of the data over periods ranging from seconds to hours, create new challenges for obtaining quantitative representations of the observed dynamics and for deriving accurate and comprehensive models for the underlying mechanisms needed to address problems in cell physiology and vertebrate development.
Our research program combines these frontier optical-imaging modalities with Artificial Intelligence Deep and Machine Learning methods to examine cellular membrane remodeling processes exemplified by cell size regulation and organization of the ER during cell division, post mitotic formation of nuclear pores complexes, organelle biogenesis, generation of intraluminal vesicles in endosomes, endosomal traffic and endosomal escape, immune responsiveness, lipid homeostasis, cell-cell recognition, and the interaction dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 or other viruses with host cells during early stages of infection.

Barbara Mazzolai is the Associate Director for Robotics and the Director of the Bioinspired Soft Robotics Laboratory at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) in Genoa. From February 2011 to March 2021, she served as the Director of the IIT Center for Micro-BioRobotics (CMBR). She earned a Bachelor's degree in Biology (with Honours) from the University of Pisa, Italy, and a Ph.D. in Microsystems Engineering from the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Between July 2012 and 2017, she was the Deputy Director for the Supervision and Organization of the IIT Centers Network. In 2017, she was a Visiting Faculty member at the Aerial Robotics Lab, Department of Aeronautics, at Imperial College London. In 2024, she was appointed as an adjunct professor to teach a course in Soft Robotics at the Politecnico di Milano. Barbara Mazzolai was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (Tübingen and Stuttgart, Germany) from 2016 to 2024. She is currently a member of the SAB at the Max Planck Queensland Centre (MPQC) for the Materials Science of Extracellular Matrices, as well as the Advisory Committee of the Cluster on Living Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS) in Freiburg, Germany. Since 2024, she has also served as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Soft Robotics journal. Her research focuses on bioinspired soft robotics, integrating principles from biology and engineering to drive technological innovation and expand scientific knowledge. She has coordinated several EU-funded projects in this field, including PLANTOID, GrowBot, and I-SEED. In May 2021, she began her European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant, I-Wood, which explores forest intelligence through robotic networks inspired by the Wood Wide Web. She is the author or co-author of more than 260 papers published in international journals, books, and conference proceedings.

Barbara Mazzolai is the Associate Director for Robotics and the Director of the Bioinspired Soft Robotics Laboratory at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) in Genoa. From February 2011 to March 2021, she served as the Director of the IIT Center for Micro-BioRobotics (CMBR). She earned a Bachelor's degree in Biology (with Honours) from the University of Pisa, Italy, and a Ph.D. in Microsystems Engineering from the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Between July 2012 and 2017, she was the Deputy Director for the Supervision and Organization of the IIT Centers Network. In 2017, she was a Visiting Faculty member at the Aerial Robotics Lab, Department of Aeronautics, at Imperial College London. In 2024, she was appointed as an adjunct professor to teach a course in Soft Robotics at the Politecnico di Milano. Barbara Mazzolai was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (Tübingen and Stuttgart, Germany) from 2016 to 2024. She is currently a member of the SAB at the Max Planck Queensland Centre (MPQC) for the Materials Science of Extracellular Matrices, as well as the Advisory Committee of the Cluster on Living Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS) in Freiburg, Germany. Since 2024, she has also served as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Soft Robotics journal. Her research focuses on bioinspired soft robotics, integrating principles from biology and engineering to drive technological innovation and expand scientific knowledge. She has coordinated several EU-funded projects in this field, including PLANTOID, GrowBot, and I-SEED. In May 2021, she began her European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant, I-Wood, which explores forest intelligence through robotic networks inspired by the Wood Wide Web. She is the author or co-author of more than 260 papers published in international journals, books, and conference proceedings.