Miss Martina Zambianchi

Martina Zambianchi is a PhD student within the Lung Cell Biology group, at the National Heart and Lung Institute.

Martina received her first degree (3 years) in Biological Sciences from the University of Milan in 2006. In her final year she worked on the project “Use of the test of the murine allantoid to study TGFβ signalling in endothelial cells”, at the IFOM-IEO laboratory in Milan, joining Professor Dejana’s team.

In March 2009 she obtained her specialization (2 years) in Biology Applied to Biomedical Research at the University of Milan, with top grades. During her degree she completed one year in the Laboratory of Molecular Physiology and Neurobiology at the University of Milan, studying the role of membrane microdomains, named caveolae, in modulating the activity of the HCN4 pacemaker channels.

In October 2009 she spent one month at the NHLI working on the project of oxidative stress regulation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

In 2010, she was awarded a National Heart and Lung Institute Foundation Studentship, with which she is undertaking her PhD under the supervision of Professor Terry Tetley.

Her current research area is investigating the effect of engineered nanoparticles on the innate immune response of the human alveolar epithelium to bacterial and viral infection. As part of her doctorate research project Martina will try to establish novel, unique models using primary and immortalised human cells.