Gianluca Cidonio is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome, where he is also a Junior Fellow of the Sapienza Advanced Superior School (SSAS). He holds a PhD in Engineering, awarded in 2018 by the University of Southampton (UK) under the supervision of Prof. Richard O.C. Oreffo, following a Master's and Bachelor's degree in Biomedical and Clinical Engineering from Sapienza University of Rome. His training also included a Global Fellow Program at the Bioengineering Department of Temple University, Philadelphia (USA).
Cidonio's research career spans institutions in Italy and the United Kingdom. He is a Senior Affiliated Researcher and former Team Leader of the Bioprinting Lab at the Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science of the Italian Institute of Technology in Rome, and remains a Visiting Researcher at the Centre for Human Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration, University of Southampton. His postdoctoral career included fellowships funded by AIRC and EPSRC.
His scientific work centres on tissue engineering and 3D bioprinting, particularly the development of nanocomposite and microfluidic-assisted bioinks for skeletal tissue regeneration and disease modelling. Notable contributions include pioneering work on nanoclay-based printed scaffolds for bone regeneration, decellularized human bone extracellular matrix hydrogels, and novel microfluidic printhead technologies enabling hierarchical, functionally graded tissue constructs.
Prof Cidonio has secured substantial competitive funding, including a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant (BRIDGE, 2025, approximately €1.99 million), an Italian Ministry of Health grant (SHIELD), support from MTF Biologics, LAV ETS, the Royal Society, and a Sapienza Horizon Europe coordination grant. He has also received prestigious fellowships from AIRC and EPSRC. His achievements have been recognized through several awards, including the 2025 Foresight Institute Fellowship, the Energy for Rome Prize, and the GISM Young Investigator Award.
He is actively engaged in the international scientific community as an Editorial Board member for the International Journal of Bioprinting and BMC Methods, and as an Early Career Board Member for several Frontiers journals. He holds leadership roles within TERMIS EU and the International Society for Biofabrication, and has organized major conferences including Tissue Engineering for Disease Modelling (TE4DM, 2026). Prof Cidonio combines a strong record of mentorship—supervising PhD, MSc and exchange students—with teaching responsibilities in regenerative medicine engineering, and dedicates significant effort to public science communication through events such as Maker Faire Rome.