Maria Vittoria Colombo

Maria Vittoria Colombo has a strong background in scientific research, particularly in the field of in vitro models for drug screening on various types of cancer cells. Maria Vittoria started their career as a Tirocinante at Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi in 2016, where they gained valuable experience. In 2017, they became a Ricercatore at the same institute, where they originated, implemented, and validated a 3D in vitro metastatic human bone platform. Maria Vittoria also worked on isolating, differentiating, and characterizing human primary cells from blood and biopsies.

In 2019, Maria Vittoria joined Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC) as a Researcher. Here, they directed the planning, organization, and design of experiments to implement high-throughput human in vitro models for drug screening on lymphoma, breast cancer, and Ewing Sarcoma cells. Maria Vittoria was involved in in-house and external projects and devised one of the first state-of-the-art 3D in vitro systems integrating different bioengineering techniques. Maria Vittoria also established protocols for long-term organoid culture and scaled up spheroid production.

Maria Vittoria Colombo further expanded their research experience by working as a Visiting PHD Student at DKFZ German Cancer Research Center in 2021. Here, they engineered and implemented a tumor microenvironment to evaluate cross-talk between bone and Ewing Sarcoma. Maria Vittoria also isolated multiple cell types from 3D constructs using FACS.

Currently, Maria Vittoria is employed at InSphero as a Scientist starting in 2023.

Maria Vittoria Colombo obtained their Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano from 2019 to 2022. Prior to that, they completed their Laurea Magistrale in Biomedical Engineering - Ingegneria biomedica in an unspecified year before 2017 and their Laurea di 1° livello in Ingegneria biomedica in an unspecified year before 2015, both from Politecnico di Milano as well. In addition to their academic qualifications, Maria Vittoria Colombo also obtained certifications in "Getting into the Mind of the Hiring Manager" and "Giving Your Elevator Pitch" from LinkedIn in August and July of 2022, respectively.