UCBM participates in 13 projects in collaboration with other Universities and Research Institutions of the Lazio Region. In particular UCBM he is coordinator of 4 projects and participates as partner in 9 projects.
Total regional funding for UCBM: € 903.673,05
List of projects with participation UCBM
Projects with participation UCBM as coordinator
Platform for the Experimental Evaluation of Resilience in Critical Infrastructures, coordinator UCBM (Teacher. Roberto Setola, Eng. Gabriele Oliva), partner: Roma Tre University
Objective:
The RESIM project aims to improve the cyber resilience of critical infrastructures. These systems, increasingly important for our daily well-being, have undergone profound changes in recent decades that have increasingly exposed them to cyber risks, as witnessed by numerous episodes. To ensure their adequate operational capacity, it is essential to implement tools and methodologies capable of preventing threats, countering their spread, mitigating the negative effects and facilitating rapid functional recovery. The complexity and peculiarities of these systems require the development of sophisticated emulation tools within which it is possible to test the various components and verify the effectiveness of the proposed contrast solutions. For this purpose the RESIM project will create a specific human-cyber-physical environment. The environment will consist of a test range for analyzing the vulnerabilities of industrial systems (UCBM) which will integrate a simulator for impact analysis in interdependent scenarios (RM3). The project builds on what has been achieved in the context of the European projects Facies and Resisto and is grafted onto the training activities (masters) carried out by the two universities on the subject of critical infrastructures.
Project partners:
- Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
- Roma Tre University
Overall funding: €143.991,66
Financing UCBM: € 73.630,01
Research Units UCBM involved:
- Automatic Control
Protocol: A0375-2020-36673
Plant biodiversity for the sustainable production of molecules with antiviral properties: plant "stem" cells as sources of defensins, coordinator UCBM (Teacher. Laura De Gara, Dr. Sara Cimini), partner of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità.
Objective:
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to discover new antiviral drugs. Furthermore, the attention of consumers and manufacturers towards the use of natural products in the preventive and therapeutic fields is growing.
The aim of the project is to explore the great biodiversity of plant molecules to identify active compounds against (re)-emerging viral infections. Will be developed a work low environmental impact production ed economically advantageous, low-cost and innovative, based on plant "stem" cells, for the production of defensins, cationic defense peptides active against a vast number of pathogens and highly conserved in evolution. The analysis and characterization of the antiviral activity of the defensins will return information aimed at opening new therapeutic perspectives based on natural molecules also in line with the objectives of smart economy.
Le defensins have been identified in several plant families. Arabidopsis thaliana, a model system of the plant world, has 317 genes coding for defensins (PDP) and defensins-like (PDLP). These peptides are constitutively expressed, but their expression can be stimulated by the inoculation of pathogens, by different abiotic stresses, as well as by hormonal treatments. There are already some studies suggesting the possibility of using plant defensins for the treatment of various human pathologies. In relation to viruses, an inhibitory activity of a plant-derived PDLP on HIV reverse transcriptase has been reported.
In the literature there are many studies that indicate the advantages of the production of bioactive molecules starting from plant cell cultures. This approach, freeing production from the seasonality linked to plant production, can guarantee better yields as it takes place in bioreactors and in controlled laboratory conditions, thus allowing the ratio of biomass produced / dedicated space to be optimized as much as possible; it also does not require the use of agricultural land. In some cases, moreover, the extraction and purification procedures are simpler and faster than those required starting from the whole plant or its organs. Cells in culture can be considered stem cells, totipotent and in continuous proliferation. They can be induced to activate specific metabolic pathways typical of already differentiated cells by means of suitable growth conditions or treatments. It is also possible to obtain cell cultures starting from adult tissues of theoretically any species, and this allows to explore a large plant biodiversity although some cell cultures (Nicotiana tabacum e Arabidopsis thaliana, just to name a few) represent excellent model systems, very versatile and fast growing. The usage of plants as "factories" of valuable molecules, therefore requires the development of an adequate cultivation protocol and, in some cases, treatment of the cell culture with elicitors or particular conditions of light, temperature, mineral nutrients, etc.
Based on the above, the project aims to:
- Develop a procedure for the production of defensins (PDP) and defensins - like (PDLP) starting from plant "stem" cell cultures
- To characterize the obtained PDPs and PDLPs for their antiviral properties
Project partners:
- Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
- Istituto Superiore di Sanita
Overall funding: €149.907,7
Financing UCBM: € 88.067,7
Research Units UCBM involved
- Food and Nutrition Sciences
Protocol: A0375-2020-36529
Development of BAKERY PRODUCTS with high health, environmental and safety value for the enhancement of the Lazio cereal supply chain, coordinator UCBM (Teacher. Chiara Fanali, Prof. Francesco Bruno), CREA partner - Council for Agricultural Research and Analysis of Agricultural Economics - food and nutrition research centre.
Objective:
The PRO-FORNO project aims to obtain innovative bakery products with particular reference to the traditional agri-food products of Lazio (DM 10/2/2020), with improved nutritional properties and safety of use. Whole wheat flours will be obtained through sustainable technologies for the increase of bioactive compounds (folate, fiber) (Reg.CE 1924/2006, Reg.UE 432/2012) and the reduction of the FODMAPs and acrylamide content (Reg.UE 2017/2158). Raw materials, enzymatic treatments and cooking processes suitable for achieving the above objectives will also be evaluated.
Main objectives are:
- Produce products with reduced formation of acrylamide and FODMAPs
- Enhance products with nutritional and health claims and front-of-pack labeling compliant with current national and international legislation.
- Diversify the portfolio of bakery products with innovative tailor-made foods with high dietary-nutritional value and safety of use.
Project partners:
- Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
- CREA - Council for Agricultural Research and Analysis of Agricultural Economics - food and nutrition research center
Overall funding: €149.967,55
Financing UCBM: € 87.988,55
Research Units UCBM involved:
- Food and Nutrition Sciences
Protocol: A0375-2020-36570
Automated system for monitoring and predicting adverse events in diabetes, coordinator UCBM (Teacher. Vincenzo Piemonte, Prof. Paolo Pozzilli, Eng. Mario Merone), CNR partner - Institute of systems analysis and informatics.
Objective:
Diabetes mellitus is a widespread chronic disease and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In order to improve the quality of life of people with diabetes and reduce the onset of complications, it is essential to prevent glycemic levels from falling outside the physiological range. In this application context, the project involves the development and validation of an embedded decision support system for people affected by insulin-treated diabetes mellitus. The system will be able to exploit the reading of commercial continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensors in order to prevent adverse glycemic events. The predictive algorithm based on a model developed in our previous works will be optimized and validated. This algorithm makes predictions using only the reading of the CGM sensor, reducing as much as possible the effort required by the patient for data collection.
Project partners:
- Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
- CNR - Institute of systems analysis and informatics
Overall funding: €150.000
Financing UCBM: € 118.916,87
Research Units UCBM involved
- Chemical-Physical Foundations of Chemical Engineering
- Endocrinology and Diabetology
- Processing Systems and Bioinformatics
Protocol: A0375-2020-36667
Projects with participation UCBM as a partner
Sensorization of highly wearable face masks for the mitigation and prevention of risks associated with respiratory fatigue, coordinator of the University of Rome La Sapienza, Partner UCBM (Teacher. Emiliano Schena, Prof. Massimiliano Carassiti. Prof. Domenico Formica).
Objective:
The SensE MAsc project aims to develop an innovative technology for the creation of highly wearable facial masks for healthcare use, sensorized by integrating innovative graphene-based high-sensitivity deformation and pressure sensors into the fabric of the mask itself, for monitoring respiratory fatigue in workers. The sensors are integrated into a wireless multi-sensory platform which, by processing and combining the data collected by the sensors through bio-cooperative simulation models and signal reconstruction algorithms, allows the monitoring and identification of situations of respiratory distress induced by the use of the facial filter.
Project partners:
- Department of Electrical Astronautical Engineering, Energy of Sapienza University of Rome
- Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
Overall funding
€ 149.998,8
Financing UCBM
€ 60.009,6
Research Units UCBM involved
- Measurements and Biomedical Instrumentation
- Anesthesiology
- Neuroengineering and Neurophysiology of Human-Technology Interaction
Protocol: A0375-2020-36760
Implementation of the production of fresh-cut vegetables to improve the safety, quality and nutritional value of the product and the environmental sustainability of the production process, coordinator of the Roma Tre University, Partner UCBM (Teacher. Vittoria Locato, Prof. Laura Dugo).
Objective:
Improvement of the quality and nutritional properties of ready-to-eat fruit and vegetable products and optimization of the production process, also for the purpose of environmental sustainability. These are the objectives of the IMPLEMENTA4GAMMA project, to promote the competitiveness and productivity of SMEs through innovation, reduce the bacterial load of the product by at least 1 log, increase its shelf-life by one day, maintain or increase its nutritional properties and reduce water consumption by at least 25% in the production cycle. Starting from technology validated in the laboratory, thanks to the results obtained from research still in progress, the project reaches the demonstration of the prototype in an operational environment.
Project partners:
- Roma Tre University
- Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
Overall funding
€ 148.451,5
Financing UCBM
€ 69.727,75
Research Units UCBM involved
- Food and Nutrition Sciences
Protocol: A0375-2020-36671
Development of organotypic and organ-on-chip models of ovarian cancer to test anticancer drugs, CNR coordinator - Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, Partner UCBM (Teacher. Alberto Rainer, Prof. Marcella Trombetta).
Objective:
The aim of this project is to develop 3D models of ovarian cancer, exploiting the potential of the organ-on-chip approach, as predictive in vitro models to be used in "prioritization testing" in the translation between in vitro and in vivo. The 3D models will first be validated for the response to drugs in use in current clinical practice, and will subsequently be used to test new molecules. This will make it possible to carry out an effective selection of the "lead" molecules to be sent to the in vivo preclinical experimentation.
Purpose: the objective of the project is to develop a platform of in vitro tumor models that could interest the national production sector but above all the Lazio sector, included in the "Life Sciences" Specialization Area, in particular the "biotechnological / pharmaceutical" one.
Results: The expected results are:
- Development of 3D ovarian cancer cell spheroids in defined artificial extracellular matrices, including organotypic model with tumor cells and cells of the stromal microenvironment, such as fibroblasts and mesothelial cells.
- Development of microfabricated devices of the "organ-on-a-chip" type, on which mimic tumors can be observed and tested.
- Validation of on-chip models with classic drugs and testing of new G-quadruplex ligands, in order to demonstrate the scalability of the system and its use in a pharmaceutical R&D pipeline.
Project partners:
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology - CNR
- Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
Overall funding
€ 146.338,67
Financing UCBM
€ 70.764,95
Research Units UCBM involved
- Tissue and Chemical Engineering for Engineering
Protocol: A0375-2020-36596
3D Bioprinting of human skin and squamous cell tumors as advanced models for precision medicine, coordinator Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Partner UCBM (Eng. Sara Maria Giannitelli, Eng. Emanuele Mauri), Foundation Luigi Maria Monti IDI-IRCCS
Objective:
The "3D bioprinting of human skin and squamous cell tumors as advanced models for precision medicine - BIOSQIN" project intends to create innovative technological tools to validate in vitro, but in a highly physiological experimental context, new therapies for SCC and, more generally, to study the interaction of chemical compounds with healthy and/or pathological skin. The project presents features of novelty and originality aiming at the definition of new products and models that expand the scientific knowledge available today. BIOSQIN is divided into four Work Packages aimed at achieving the main objectives set:
- develop protocols for the generation of skin and SCC models using 3D bioprinting techniques. The activity will be carried out by WP1 (coordinated by the Campus Biomedico University) which will pay particular attention to the development of new bio-inks consisting of polymeric hydrogels
- characterize the 3D bioprinting models using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence techniques. The activity will be carried out by WP2 (coordinated by IDI-IRCSS) which will compare the phenotypic and molecular characteristics of these models with skin biopsies.
- validate the 3D models generated in WP1 and characterized in WP2 as reliable models for drug screening. The activity will be carried out by WP3 (coordinated by ISS) which will also carry out a preliminary evaluation of the cytotoxicity and biological activity of specific anticancer drugs on 2D tumor cultures
- disseminate the results obtained in the project by carrying out a technological transfer of the acquired knowledge to the companies of the Lazio region. The activity will be carried out by WP4, coordinated by the ISS, which will also maintain a high level of collaboration between the different units of the project
Project partners:
- Istituto Superiore di Sanita
- Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
- Foundation Luigi Maria Monti IDI-IRCCS
Overall funding
€ 146.803,27
Financing UCBM
€ 47.401,47
Research Units UCBM involved
- Tissue and Chemical Engineering for Engineering.
Protocol: A0375-2020-36501
Methods and tools for the management and control of Renewable Energy Communities, Green Economy area, coordinator of the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Partner UCBM (Teacher. Giulio Iannello, Prof. Filippo Cacace).
Objective:
EU Directive 2018/2001 provides for the introduction of the new figure of the Renewable Energy Community (CER), i.e. groups of customers gathered to exchange, within the same community, the renewable energy produced by their own production units. At the beginning of 2020, Italian legislation began to transpose this directive by formally establishing the figure of CER. These communities will be able to present themselves on the energy and energy services markets by offering greater power and greater flexibility with respect to a single consumer or a single unit of Distributed Energy Resources (RED). The main purpose of the establishment of the CERs is to encourage further development of the exploitation of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and efficient use of energy by consumers.
The ComER project, which sees the collaboration of the Department of Electrical and Information Engineering of the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio and the Departmental Faculty of Engineering of theUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, aims to study management and control methodologies of the REDs available in a CER, taking into consideration in particular:
- both passive and active residential users, i.e. able to provide Active Demand services, controlling their own electrical and thermal loads in order to modify their temporal distribution and/or the intensity of the absorbed powers;
- systems for the production of electrical and thermal energy from RES, both autonomous and inserted in plants of active users;
- energy storage systems, in particular electrochemical storage systems (including on-board systems of charging electric vehicles connected to active user systems) and thermal storage (both hot and cold).
Subsequently, the project intends to develop tools to support management decisions and control of CERs. In particular, the following will be developed:
- forecast algorithms in the medium and short term of the various REDs that make up the CERs;
- tools for monitoring and controlling RED;
- optimization algorithms to support CER management.
Finally, the tools will be implemented on a commercial platform particularly suitable for the development of energy management and control systems in order to:
- validate the proposed methodologies and tools developed in an experimental application
- favor the potential technological transfer of the results to companies interested in creating and selling EWC management and control systems.
Partner:
- University of Cassino and Southern Lazio
- Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
Overall funding
€ 149.714,25
Financing UCBM
€ 69.905,85
Research Units UCBM involved
- Processing Systems and Bioinformatics
Protocol: A0375-2020-36770
New natural neuroprotective molecules to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, coordinator of the EBRI Foundation "Rita Levi Montalcini", Partner UCBM (Prof. Marcello D'Amelio, Dr. Paraskevi Krashia)
Objective:
The CurALZ project, entitled "New natural neuroprotective molecules to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease", POR A0375-2020-36665, aims to test the neuroprotective efficacy of natural and biological molecules in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.
Specifically, the laboratory of Prof. D'Amelio has recently discovered how a small area of the brain (Ventral Tegmental Area or VTA) degenerates in Alzheimer patients already in the early stages of the disease characterized by "Mild Cognitive Impairment" (MCI). In this project we want to evaluate whether natural molecules such as curcumin or a cell-permeable peptide, developed in our laboratory, acting on VTA are able to prevent model MCI in a mouse model of AD. In the future, these molecules could become food supplements or drugs that could help slow the progression of the disease.
Partner:
- EBRI Foundation “Rita levi Montalcini”
- Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
Overall funding
€ 149.957,09
Financing UCBM
€64.329,66
Research Units UCBM involved
- Molecular Neurosciences
Protocol: A0375-2020-36665
From the laboratory to the table through bioengineering models: process optimization for the increase in the mass of bioprintable meat, coordinator University of Rome Tor Vergata, Partner UCBM (Eng. Alessio Gizzi, Eng. Carlo Massaroni)
Objective:
BIOPMEAT deals with the bioprinting of cultured meat (grown in the laboratory from myogenic cells, i.e. cells that generate skeletal muscle) for food applications that offer an eco-sustainable alternative to current meat production techniques. BIOPMEAT's vision consists in the development of a technology for the control and optimization of the bioprinting process variables, in such a way as to allow the necessary technological development that currently hinders its use in industrial production systems.
The research activities of BIOPMEAT are divided into 5 Work-Packages (WPs):
- WP1 will deal with the development of the sensor system for the experimental characterization of the physicochemical properties in bioprinted constructs;
- WP2 of the development of theoretical and computational models and of the interface of these models with experimental measurements;
- WP3 of the integration of the sensor-model system in the bioprinting process;
- WP4 of the development of the bioprinting process monitoring and process variable control system;
- WP5 of coordination and dissemination of results.
- BIOPMEAT will have a triple impact on the skills, potential and efficiency of the national production fabric:
- a bioengineering approach to the bioprinting process based on in silico models will be developed which will allow minimizing in vivo research in accordance with modern ethical (3R), financial and regulatory constraints;
- it will represent research that enhances the role of in silico models in the future of biomedical research, in accordance with ongoing efforts to standardize their use in bioengineering applications (ie, strategies of the VpH Institute and the Avicenna Alliance);
- it will allow the rational design of bioprinted constructs, increasing their quality, effectiveness and robustness and reducing their research and development costs, thus favoring their industrialization path.
Partner:
- University of Rome Tor Vergata
- Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
Overall funding
€ 147.353,85
Financing UCBM
€ 68.130,00
Research Units UCBM involved
- Nonlinear Physics and Mathematical Models
- Measurements and Biomedical Instrumentation
Protocol: A0375-2020-36756
Enhancement of waste from wineries through the recovery of active ingredients and development of formulations for antimicrobial, nutraceutical and food products, in a circular economy perspective, coordinator of the University of Rome La Sapienza, Partner UCBM (Teacher. Sara Ramella, Prof. Michele Guarino)
Objective:
The project has as its objective the valorisation of waste from wineries through the recovery of active ingredients and the development of antimicrobial, nutraceutical and food products, in a circular economy perspective. Specifically, the project involves the production of extracts rich in bioactive compounds obtained from unfermented pomace and pruning waste, coming from wineries in the Lazio region. The extracts will be evaluated for antioxidant, antimicrobial and preservative activity. The extracts will be tested on human erythrocytes and on Caco-2 intestinal cells, to evaluate the protective capacity against bacterial pathogens and against damages induced by radiological treatments for radio-diagnostic or radio-therapeutic purposes. The antioxidant capacity will be tested by chemical and biological assays in which the ability of the extracts to prevent the lipid peroxidation of human erythrocyte membranes induced by UV radiation will be measured. As regards the antimicrobial activity, the extracts will be tested on food contaminating microorganisms and causing human disease (such as Listeria, Escherichia coli, Salmonella and Aspergillus) following the standard procedures for the evaluation of the antimicrobial activity. The extracts will also be evaluated for preservative capacity, in food products intended for human consumption, by the challenge test.
Partner:
- University of Rome La Sapienza
- Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
Overall funding
€ 149.380,90
Financing UCBM
€ 74.842,44
Research Units UCBM involved
- Radiation Oncology
- Gastroenterology
Protocol: A0375-2020-36590
New "MICROSPONGE" therapy for the intra-articular adjuvant treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and chronic rheumatic diseases according to the 3P-medicine approach, coordinator of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Partner UCBM (Dr. Gianluca Vadalà).
Objective:
MIRA aims to produce a preclinical Proof-of-Concept demonstrating the feasibility and efficacy of the first adjuvant therapy for the intra-articular treatment of rheumatoid arthritis based on MICROSPONGE technology. The application implications are such as to open a new frontier in 3-P medicine (personalized, precision, preventive) and in "sustained drug delivery" in chronic rheumatic diseases (CRDs). The University of Rome “Tor Vergata” and theUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, in collaboration with ANTIAGE (non-profit organization of the Villa San Pietro Hospital) and Nanofaber, will "formally" create a center of excellence established for medical and industrial research relating to the MICROSPONGE technology. This approach will enrich the innovation ecosystem of Lazio with a well-aligned operational core on the R3 theme "life sciences and human health" - ERC reference area LS7.
Partner:
- University of Rome Tor Vergata
- Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
Overall funding
€ 149.970,75
Financing UCBM
€ 9.958,2
Research Units UCBM involved
- Orthopaedics and Traumatology
Protocol: A0375-2020-36793