About
Luca Rosalia
Postdoctoral Scholar, Stanford University, USA, Present
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, 2023
B.Eng and M.Eng., University of Glasgow, Scotland, 2019
Visiting M.Eng., University of Cambridge, UK, 2018
Visiting B.Eng., National University of Singapore, Singapore, 2017
I am currently a postdoctoral scholar in the Bioengineering department at Stanford University, where I am focusing on the development of biomimetic soft robotics for cardiac tissue engineering and bioprinting applications. My work is funded by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface (CASI). My doctorate work in the Health Sciences and Technology (HST) Ph.D. program of Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology pioneered the use of soft robotics to recapitulate human disease with high-fidelity for personalized device testing and procedural planning, both via animal models (Rosalia et al., Nature Biomedical Engineering, 2022) and patient-specific benchtop simulators (Rosalia et al., Science Robotics, 2023). Before coming to the US, I received my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Glasgow (UK).
During my PhD, I designed soft robots that beat and move like the human heart. As a postdoc, I am now leveraging similar technologies to train 3D bioprinted tissue how to beat. My current research therefore combines biomimetic soft robots with advanced 3D bioprinting techniques to develop heart tissue using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). Prior to that, my work focused on valvular heart disease, congenital defects, and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. My research branches out to other organs with a transport a biomechanical function, including the respiratory, lymphatic, and cerebrospinal systems. I also worked as an R&D engineer in the Structural heart division of Abbott Laboratories on the development of transcatheter aortic valve replacements (TAVR).
I gained clinical experience at the Boston Children's Hospital and at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Boston, where I interned in several clinics and ORs including pediatric surgery, vascular surgery, emergency department, and cardiac electrophysiology. During my studies, I won several awards including the Best Graduating Biomedical Engineering Student and the Best Overall Graduating Engineering Student from the University of Glasgow. At MIT, I received the MathWorks Engineering Fellowship and the Richard J. Thomas Professional Development Fund. My research and my personal and professional journey have been covered by media outlets such as CNN, NBC News both in the US and overseas.
Mission
My goal is to develop silicone-tissue interfaces to address biomechanically complex clinical challenges. I seek to distribute these platforms to other research laboratories, the medical device industry, and hospitals to support the development of next-generation medical devices, elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms of conditions yet not fully understood, and provide clinicians with reliable tools for individualized procedural planning.
Technology
To achieve this mission, I develop biomimetic soft robotic technology as it allows me to better recapitulate the biomechanics and hemodynamic aspects of physiology and disease, design highly customizable and controllable tools enabling patient-specific mimicry of disease, and leverage imaging techniques for truthful characterization of their effects on body structure and function.
Collaborators
Research
ETH Zurich, Cambridge University, University of Galway, RCSI.
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Hospitals
Cleveland Clinic Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital Veterans Affairs Boston Medical Center.
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Industry
Abbott Laboratories,
Edwards LifeSciences,
Occlutech.
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