Research activities date back to the 70’s when novel mathematical models of the human digestive system were proposed. Modelling of physiological systems, including insulin secretion and glucose metabolism, has been the main research activity in the following two decades. Novel methodologies in the analysis of neuroelectrical signals to study the human brain functions have been proposed since the 2000’s. Later in the same decade the research interest included the new fields of computational modeling and analysis of omics data.
At present, the group is engaged in a multidisciplinary effort, pursuing a wide range of research topics by developing mathematical methods applied to neurophysiology, to the analysis and integration of omics data for precision and network medicine, and by designing innovative instrumentation for neurorehabilitation. The main research topics are:
Design and validation of EEG-based Brain-Computer Interfaces for assistive and rehabilitation purposes;
Design and validation of Passive Brain-Computer Interfaces (pBCIs) for mental and emotional states evaluation in operational environments;
Computational modeling and analysis of omics data for precision and network medicine.
Estimation of brain connectivity in humans by means of structural and functional models and applications;
Neuroelectrical hyperscanning and social neuroscience;
Bioinformatics
Research goals include:
application of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) as support to rehabilitation of stroke patients;
application of passive Brain-Computer Interfaces (pBCIs) in out-of-the-lab applications, especially in operational environments (e.g. aviation, automotive, industrial workers);
optimization of tumor radiotherapy, the development of computational and bioinformatic tools for the analysis of omics data in different organisms and diseases, including berry developments in plants and human solid tumors.
use of features extracted from human neuroelectrical activity and connectivity to identify biomarkers of diseases and of physiological mental states
drug repurposing
use of bioelectrical signals as biometric features for identification purposes in cybersecurity applications
identification of disease modules in omics networks
The research group participates in the joint translational research platform established by Sapienza University and IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia.
Several other national and international cooperations are actually active, among which: Laboratori di Neuroscienze Industriali - Dip. di Medicina Molecolare, Sapienza Università di Roma; Dip. di Fisiologia Umana e Farmacologia, Sapienza Università di Roma; Dip. di Biotecnologie Cellulari ed Ematologia, Sapienza Università di Roma; Dip. di Medicina sperimentale, laboratorio di Oncogenomica, Sapienza Università di Roma, Laboratorio di Oncogenesi Molecolare, Istituto Nazionale Tumori Regina Elena (Roma); Istituto di Analisi dei Sistemi e Informatica (IASI) – CNR (Roma); Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Università degli studi di Napoli, Federico II; Laboratorio di Genetica Agraria, Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Università di Verona; Institute of Medical Statistics, Computer Sciences and Documentation, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany; Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, University of Geneva, Switzerland; Perceptual Networks Group, University of Fribourg,Switzerland; Computational Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA; New Zealand Brain Research Institute, Christchurch, New Zealand, Department of Medicine - Harvard University (USA), Channing division of Network Medicine, Harvard University (USA), Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging - Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital.
Facilities available for research and teaching activities include:
The laboratory of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics (BiBiLab), located in the premises of the Department
The laboratory of Neuroelectrical Imaging and Brain Computer Interfaces (NEILab), located in the premises of Fondazione Santa Lucia (accessed as part of the joint research platform)
