Description
DECODe is a three-year research project investigating the relationship between the oocyte and the surrounding follicular cells, with the aim of identifying the molecules that regulate the acquisition of embryonic developmental competence. The research addresses one of the main factors behind female infertility: the oocyte’s inability to initiate and complete embryonic development. Within the ovary, the oocyte matures and acquires this competence through a continuous cytological, molecular and biomechanical dialogue with the follicular cells that surround it.
The project has been awarded €946,600 in funding from Fondazione Regionale per la Ricerca Biomedica under the Consolidator call.
The study is led by Prof. Danilo Cimadomo (Principal Investigator), together with Dr. Giulia Fiorentino (Co-PI) and Prof. Maurizio Zuccotti (Co-PI) of the Laboratory of Biology and Biotechnology of Reproduction (LBBR), Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Lazzaro Spallanzani”. The Biomedical Informatics Laboratory (BMI) contributes to the project through Dr. Giovanna Nicora (Co-PI) and Prof. Riccardo Bellazzi (Co-PI), bringing computational analysis and artificial intelligence expertise to the identification of the regulators of embryonic development.
Other researchers from LBBR (Valeria Merico, Paola Rebuzzini, Andrea Fantinato, Giulia Brazzale, Margherita Isernia and Mario Zanoni) and from BMI (Lorenzo Corso) also collaborate on the project.
