Dr Giulia Adriani
Dr Giulia Adriani
Principal Investigator
Email: giulia_adriani@a-star.edu.sg
Research Themes: Organ-on-chip/Microphysiological systems, Vascularized tissue modelling, Tumor microenvironment and inflammation, Neurovascular unit
Biography
Dr. Giulia Adriani is Principal Scientist at A*STAR Skin Research Labs, with adjunct appointments at A*STAR Singapore Immunology Network, National University of Singapore, and Nanyang Technological University. Dr. Adriani holds a PhD in Engineering of Machinery and completed a joint-PhD fellowship in Biomedical and Biomechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic of Milan, Bari, and Turin. During her doctoral studies, she visited Houston Methodist Hospital Research Institute, TX USA, combining research in experimental nanomedicine and computational fluid dynamics for drug delivery applications. She completed her postdoctoral training at MIT's Singapore research center, developing expertise in microfluidics and cancer metastasis while establishing quantitative assays for studying neurovascular unit and blood–brain barrier functions.
Dr. Adriani has advanced research in vascularized organoids, cancer immunology, and immunotherapy through the design of microphysiological systems (organ-on-chip) that recapitulate organ-specific microenvironments. Her platforms enable mechanistic investigation of cellular and molecular interactions, therapeutic efficacy assessment, and personalized medicine approaches. Supported by competitive funding, Dr. Adriani has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals and holds multiple patents. She is an active invited speaker at international conferences and mentor to undergraduate and graduate students in advancing cutting-edge approaches in tissue engineering.
Research Interests
Dr Giulia Adriani’s research focuses on advancing disease modelling through the development of 3D microphysiological systems (organ-on-chip) that integrate microfluidics, biomaterials, and vascularized immune-competent multicellular spheroids/organoids. These systems allow investigation of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying disease progression, including inflammation, vascular barrier function, extra-cellular matrix remodeling and therapy resistance. Her interdisciplinary approach integrates bioengineering, biomaterials science, and immunology to bridge basic research and translational application through collaborations with hospitals, academia, and industry partners. A key goal is to engineer functional models to advance cellular interaction studies in human-relevant settings, supporting therapeutic discovery and improving quality of life for patients.
Selected Publications
Quek Y. J., Kumar A. R. K., Adriani G., Tay A. (2025). Nanostraw Electroporation for Temporal RNA Sampling from Living 2D and 3D Cell Culture Systems. ACS Nano, 19(43), 37847-37864.
Vasudevan J., Vijayakumar R., Reales-Calderon J. A., Lam M. S. Y., Ow J. R., Aw J., Tan D., Tan A. T., Bertoletti A., Adriani G., Pavesi A. (2025). In vitro integration of a functional vasculature to model endothelial regulation of chemotherapy and T-cell immunotherapy in liver cancer. Biomaterials, 320, 123175.
Adriani G., Pavesi A. (2024). The OrganiX microfluidic system to recreate the complex tumour microenvironment. Nat Rev Immunol, 24(5), 1–1.
Yau J. N. N., Yempala T., Muthuramalingam R. P. K., Giustarini G., Teng G., Ang W. H., Gibson D., Adriani G., Pastorin G. (2024). Fluorescence-Guided Spatial Drug Screening in 3D Colorectal Cancer Spheroids. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 13(20): e2400203.
Adriani G., Ma D., Pavesi A., Kamm R. D., Goh, E. L. K. (2017). A 3D neurovascular microfluidic model consisting of neurons, astrocytes and cerebral endothelial cells as a blood–brain barrier. Lab on a Chip, 17(3), 448–459.