Biography
- Dr. Sara Romanazzo is currently a senior postdoctoral researcher in the Kilian and Gooding groups, where she is mainly focusing on developing in vitro 3D tissue models to study the interaction between cancer and surrounding tissues during breast cancer development and metastasis. In addition, she investigates stem cell plasticity in response to various physicochemical stimuli. Her passion is to apply innovative engineering techniques and novel materials as a tool to understand fundamental biological questions, and to use that knowledge for regenerative medicine and drug discovery applications.
Sara has a total of five years postdoctoral experience across various institutes, including Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity College Dublin and The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the University of New South Wales, the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse institute and the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan. During this time, she obtained an independent research fellowship at the International Centre for Young Scientists, where she focused on the development of engineered musculoskeletal with induced pluripotent stem cells in 3D printing techniques for regenerative therapies.
Prior to her postdoctoral positions, Sara completed a PhD in Nanoscience and Nanoengineering at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan, in 2015, where she studied the role of different biochemical and physical factors in the fate of stem cells used for cardiac tissue regeneration purposes, including cardiac progenitor stem cells, skeletal muscle cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells. She also earned a Master's Degree (2011) and a Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Cellular Biology (2009) from the University of Rome Tor Vergata in Rome, Italy, where she worked on projects related to molecular and cellular cardiology.
- contact: s.romanazzo@unsw.edu.au
Projects
- - Biofabrication of 3D tumor micro-environment
- - Investigating the influence of physical factors on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSc)
Publications
- P. Srivastava, S. Romanazzo, C. Kopecky, S. Nemec, J. Ireland, T.G. Molley, K. Lin, J.B. Pavithra, E. Pandzic, A. Yeola, V. Chandrakanthan, J. Pimanda, K.A. Kilian, "Defined Microenvironments Trigger In Vitro Gastrulation in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells" Advanced Science 2022, 2203614: 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202203614
- S. Romanazzo, T.G. Molley, S.Nemec, K. Lin, R. Sheikh, J.J. Gooding, B.Wan, Q. Li, K.A. Kilian and I. Roohani, "Synthetic Bone-Like Structures Through Omnidirectional Ceramic Bioprinting in Cell Suspensions" Adv.Func. Mater. 2021, 31 (13). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202008216
- S. Romanazzo, K.A. Kilian, "Geometric cues for directing cell fate" Material-based Mechanobiology, https://doi.org/10.1039/9781839165375
- S. Romanazzo, S. Vedicherla, C. Moran, and D.J. Kelly, "Meniscus ECM-Functionalised Hydrogels Containing Infrapatellar Fat Pad-Derived Stem Cells for Bioprinting of Regionally Defined Meniscal Tissue" J Tissue Eng Regen Med 2018, 12 (3): e1826–35, https://doi.org/10.1002/term.2602