ERC Days at UNIVPM
Francesco joined ERC Days at UNIVPM to discuss frontier-research funding, share experience of the ERC programme, and advocate for conditions that help ambitious research thrive in Italy.
Eloisa and Melissa defend their PhDs
Congratulations to Dr Eloisa Torchia and Dr Melissa Pezzotti, who defended their PhDs after four years of advancing SPL's engineered culture, mechanobiology, and live-imaging platforms. We are delighted that both are continuing the adventure with SPL.
Francesco discusses AI in research at the University of Pavia
Francesco discussed how artificial intelligence can expand experimental possibilities at the University of Pavia's event on AI in research, while keeping scientific judgment, empirical evidence, and the limits of the technology firmly in view.
Janelia conference
Francesco presented SPL's work at Janelia's meeting on the intersection of mechanics and metabolism across biological scales, connecting engineered tissues with a broad community studying how physical context shapes cell state.
MicroSplit published in Nature Methods
MicroSplit is published in Nature Methods, using semantic unmixing to recover richer biological information from multiplexed fluorescence images.
Micro-comb 3D printing published
Micro-comb 3D printing is published in Biofabrication, introducing a rapid route to tissue-guiding substrates through micro-embossed printing nozzles.
Francesco, Eloisa, and Melissa at TERMIS-EU in Palma de Mallorca
Francesco, Eloisa, and Melissa presented SPL's work at TERMIS-EU 2026 in Palma de Mallorca, sharing new approaches to cell-cycle-aware imaging, intracellular mechanics, and engineered tissue models.
Deep-learning FUCCI analysis published
Our deep-learning workflow for multiplexed FUCCI imaging is published in npj Imaging, turning live-cell reporters into quantitative trajectories of cell state.
BIOPOINT published
BIOPOINT is now published in PLOS Computational Biology, offering a particle-based framework for probing nuclear mechanics and cell–matrix interactions with experimentally grounded parameters.
VISTA published
VISTA is published in APL Bioengineering, integrating engineered confinement, live FUCCI imaging, and analysis to follow cell-cycle-aware phenotypes from experiment to quantitative readout.
SPL at the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting
Francesco gave an invited presentation at the Biophysical Society Bioengineering Subgroup meeting, sharing SPL's approach to rebuilding measurable physiology with engineered cells, materials, and imaging.
CALIPERS plasmids available from Addgene
The CALIPERS FUCCIplex plasmids are now available through Addgene, making SPL's cell-cycle-aware live-imaging toolkit easier for other laboratories to adopt and extend.
Bioengineering Subgroup Chair-Elect
Francesco has been elected Chair-Elect of the Biophysical Society Bioengineering Subgroup, supporting a community that connects physical principles, engineering, and living systems.