Alex Granata

I had a Research Associate position in Sanjay’s lab from 2011 till 2016. My research project involved the generation of the first human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)-derived model of the vascular disease, Marfan Syndrome. This was achieved by using the protocol established in the lab, that allows to create smooth muscle cells of specific embryonic origins and to mimic specific regions of the aortic vascular bed to replicate the disease phenotype. My work was published in 2017 in Nature Genetics and it initiated the disease modelling research work currently carried out in Sanjay’s lab.

I am now Senior Research Associated in the department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge, and last year I was awarded the Medical Research Foundation mid-career fellowship. I have established my own research group working on the development of iPSC models for genetic form of cerebral small vessel diseases and stroke, to provide new insights into the mechanisms and contribute to the development of new therapies for patients with stroke.