Lab Experience at the NIH National Institutes of Health USA – Davide Pizzi

I’m glad to share that I have just concluded my internship at the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at the NIH!

The Laboratory of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine is part of the Patient-Centered Vascular Translational Program, which investigates vascular injury, remodeling, and repair while translating findings into innovative therapeutic strategies. Its research focuses on understanding cardiovascular remodeling and exploring the effects of biochemical and iPSC therapies by developing in vitro and in vivo vascular disease models. This is complemented by a wide range of cell culture lines and cutting-edge techniques such as co-culture systems, 3D-printed structures, and large-scale Omics studies, including single-cell RNA sequencing, proteomics, and metabolomics.

During my time in the lab, I had the privilege of working on a project focused on Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), the most common heritable cause of stroke and vascular dementia in adults. This rare genetic cerebrovascular disease has limited treatment options and lacks comprehensive safety and efficacy data.

Interacting with CADASIL patients gave me a profound appreciation of the immense burden this disease places not only on the individuals affected but also on their families. Advancing targeted therapies for this condition is of critical importance, and in the lab, we worked toward this goal through organoid models, advanced imaging techniques, and single-cell sequencing. This hands-on experience allowed me to deepen my understanding of disease mechanisms while developing essential skills in cutting-edge research methodologies.

I am incredibly grateful to Dr. Manfred Boehm for the opportunity to work in his lab, Dr. Domenico Mavilio, my mentor in the Virgilio Program, for making this experience possible, and Dr. Kevin Emmerich for his invaluable mentorship. A special thanks to the entire lab team for welcoming me from day one and making this journey so enriching both professionally and personally. I also sincerely thank Fondazione Vollaro for financially supporting this experience.

This was truly a remarkable experience, and I look forward to building on everything I’ve learned!