Francesca holds a Bachelor's degree in Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology from University of Bari, Italy and a Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences, with specialization in Regenerative Medicine, from Maastricht University, completed through a double degree program at the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan. During her time in Kyoto, she carried out her master's internship undercovering the role of different cytokines in the direct reprogramming of mesenchymal stem cells into brown adipocytes.
Currently, Francesca is a PhD candidate in the De Windt Lab at Maastricht University, where her research focuses on AAV-based gene therapy for controllable cardiac regeneration. Here, she is investigating whether genetic switches can be used to precisely control and direct the regenerative process in the heart.
Across these experiences, she has built solid expertise in molecular cloning, iPSC and cardiomyocyte culture and differentiation as an in vitro model system, and viral vector production and delivery. Thus, her work bridges gene therapy engineering and regenerative biology, with a broader interest in developing precise, controllable tools for tissue regeneration.