Graziella Pellegrini (born July 12, 1961) is an Italian Professor of

Cell Biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

and the Cell Therapy Program Coordinator at the

University of Modena and Reggio Emilia The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia ( it, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia), located in Modena and Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, is one of the oldest universities in Italy, founded in 1175, with a population of 20, ...

. She has developed and championed

cell therapy Cell therapy (also called cellular therapy, cell transplantation, or cytotherapy) is a therapy in which viable cells are injected, grafted or implanted into a patient in order to effectuate a medicinal effect, for example, by transplanting T-c ...

protocols in hospitals across Italy.

Early life and education

Pellegrini was born in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

. She studied molecular pharmacology at the

University of Genoa The University of Genoa, known also with the acronym UniGe ( it, Università di Genova), is one of the largest universities in Italy. It is located in the city of Genoa and regional Metropolitan City of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Liguri ...

, where she earned her PhD in 1988. She continued to study

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and

pharmacology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...

at the

, and completed two subsequent degrees in 1989. Pellegrini completed extra training to become a pharmacist.

Research and career

Pellegrini was appointed to the Italian National Institute for Cancer Research in 1988. She held positions at Celllife Biotechnology, the Advanced Biotechnology Center and the Veneto Eye Bank Association. She is best known for her work in

translational medicine Translational medicine (often called translational science, of which it is a form) is defined by the European Society for Translational Medicine as "an interdisciplinary branch of the biomedical field supported by three main pillars: benchside, beds ...

, and has developed

epithelial Epithelium or epithelial tissue is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with connective tissue, muscle tissue and nervous tissue. It is a thin, continuous, protective layer of compactly packed cells with a little intercellula ...

stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...

mediated cell and gene therapies. She has worked with

Michele de Luca Michele (), is an Italian male given name, akin to the English male name Michael. Michele (pronounced ), is also an English female given name that is derived from the French Michèle. It is a variant spelling of the more common (and identicall ...

for most of her academic career. In 1990 Pellegrini established the first

urethra The urethra (from Greek οὐρήθρα – ''ourḗthrā'') is a tube that connects the urinary bladder to the urinary meatus for the removal of urine from the body of both females and males. In human females and other primates, the urethra con ...

cultures for humans, which could be used to regenerate the

in patients with posterior

hypospadias Hypospadias is a common variation in fetal development of the penis in which the urethra does not open from its usual location in the head of the penis. It is the second-most common birth abnormality of the male reproductive system, affecting abou ...

. She showed that the p63 transcription factor, a homologue of

P53 p53, also known as Tumor protein P53, cellular tumor antigen p53 (UniProt name), or transformation-related protein 53 (TRP53) is a regulatory protein that is often mutated in human cancers. The p53 proteins (originally thought to be, and often s ...

that is essential for regenerative proliferation in the development of

cells, can distinguish human

keratinocyte Keratinocytes are the primary type of Cell (biology), cell found in the epidermis (skin), epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. In humans, they constitute 90% of epidermal skin cells. Basal cells in the stratum basale, basal layer (''str ...

cells from their transient amplifying keratinocyte analogues. The identification of this marker is important in the clinical application of epithelial cultures for

. In 2006 Pellegrini was appointed as an associate professor at the

. She leads the Center for Regenerative Medicine “Stefano Ferrari”. Pellegrini has used the epithelial

s for the treatment of

skin disease A skin condition, also known as cutaneous condition, is any medical condition that affects the integumentary system—the organ system that encloses the body and includes skin, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of this sy ...

. She first outlined the feasibility of ''

ex vivo ''Ex vivo'' (Latin: "out of the living") literally means that which takes place outside an organism. In science, ''ex vivo'' refers to experimentation or measurements done in or on tissue from an organism in an external environment with minimal ...

gene therapy Gene therapy is a medical field which focuses on the genetic modification of cells to produce a therapeutic effect or the treatment of disease by repairing or reconstructing defective genetic material. The first attempt at modifying human DN ...

laminin Laminins are a family of glycoproteins of the extracellular matrix of all animals. They are major components of the basal lamina (one of the layers of the basement membrane), the protein network foundation for most cells and organs. The laminins ...

-332 junctional epidermolysis bullosa in 2006. This involved transplanting

autologous Autotransplantation is the transplantation of organs, tissues, or even particular proteins from one part of the body to another in the same person ('' auto-'' meaning "self" in Greek). The autologous tissue (also called autogenous, autogene ...

epidermis flaps from epidermal

s that had been genetically corrected. She demonstrated the first successful clinical trial to treat junctional epidermolysis bullosa. For the following two years, Pellegrini and De Luca observed initial

patients, when it became obvious that they could scale the technology. In 2017 the epithelial

s were used to treat a seven-year-old boy who had lost 80% of his skin to junctional epidermolysis bullosa. In 2008 Pellegrini and De Luca co-founded the Holostem Terapie Avanzate, a biotechnology spin-out that develops advanced therapy producets that use

cultures. They developed a culture system that creates

limbal stem cell Limbal stem cells, also known as corneal epithelial stem cells, are stem cells located in the basal epithelial layer of the corneal limbus. They form the border between the cornea and the sclera. Characteristics of limbal stem cells include a slow ...

for the regeneration of

cornea The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power ...

s, which can restore vision to patients ocular burns who are deemed incurable. This system, Holoclar, was recognised by the

European Medicines Agency The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) in charge of the evaluation and supervision of medicinal products. Prior to 2004, it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products or Euro ...

in 2008, and received its approval for marketing from the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

in 2015. Holoclar is the first

based medicinal product to be approved by the

. In 2020 Graziella Pellegrini and Michele De Luca, shared the

Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine Established in 1986, the Louis-Jeantet Prizes are funded by the ''Fondation Louis-Jeantet'' and awarded each year to experienced researchers who have distinguished themselves in the field of biomedical research in one of the member states of t ...

for the development of epithelial stem cell-based regenerative therapy in patients with severe eye and skin disease. Pellegrini provides expert opinion for the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pellegrini, Graziella Italian women scientists Italian women academics University of Genoa alumni Academic staff of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia Regenerative biomedicine 1961 births Living people