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Laura Andolfi

  • CNR Researcher
  • laura.andolfi@nano.cnr.it
  • Pisa
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Short Bio

She earned a Master’s degree in Biology from the University of Tuscia-Viterbo in 1997 and a PhD in Mathematics and Natural Sciences from Leiden University (Netherlands) in 2004. The PhD research dealt with the application of scanning probe microscopy to study electron transfer properties of engineered plastocyanin adsorbed on gold substrates.

In 2005, she joined the University of Tuscia under the ‘Rientro dei Cervelli’ program, with a project on the nanotechnological applications of complexes formed by redox-active agents immobilized on metal electrodes. In 2010, she moved to the University of Trieste and later joined the Center of Molecular Biomedicine (CBM) at AREA Science Park Trieste. From 2014 to 2020. She held a postdoctoral position at the Istituto Officina dei Materiali of the National Research Council (IOM-CNR), focusing on the investigation of cell mechanics in oncology and reproductive medicine.

Since August 2020, she is a permanent researcher at the CNR.

Research Interests

  • Application of scanning probe microscopy in biological research
  • Investigation of the impact of cell mechanics and mechanotransduction processes on physiological and pathological conditions using atomic force microscopy and innovative devices.

Selected Recent Projects

Selected Publications

PIEZO2 channels: Mediators of mechanotransduction and cell-cell communication as revealed by localized mechanical stimulation. G. Demontis, F De Castro Reis, P. Heppenstall, M. Lazzarino, L. Andolfi. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (2025) 779, 152422

Investigations of cardiac fibrosis rheology by in vitro cardiac tissue modeling with 3D cellular spheroids. M. Zanetti, N. Braidotti, M. Khumar, E. Montelongo, R. Lombardi, O. Sbaizero, L. Mestroni, MRG Taylor, G. Baj, M. Lazzarino, B Peña, L. Andolfi. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials (2024) 155: 106571.

The local mechanosensitive response of primary cardiac fibroblasts is influenced by the microenvironment mechanics. N. Braidotti, G. Demontis, M. Conti, L. Andolfi, CD Ciubotaru, O. Sbaizero, D. Cojoc. Scientific Reports (2024) 14 (1): 10365.

Flagellar beating forces of human spermatozoa with different motility behaviors. C. Tufoni, A. Battistella, S. Luppi, R. Boscolo, G. Ricci, M. Lazzarino, L. Andolfi. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (2024) 22:28.

X-rays induced alterations in mechanical and biochemical properties of isolated SH-SY5Y nuclei. Andolfi, L., Meschini, R., Filippi, S., Bedolla D.E., Piccirilli F., Lepore, M., Delfino, I. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - General Subject (2023) 1867: 13029.