How we work
ILFARM partners boast more than twenty years of experience in scientific research and their results have been presented in several national and international congresses and meetings, and published in high impact factor international journals.
They have consolidated skills in the breeding and maintenance of adult leeches and young individuals, in the care of the embryonic stages and the various stages of development.
ILFARM has at its disposal its own private labs suitable for the location and breeding of leeches in dedicated aquariums. ILFARM buildings are designed for housing quality leeches which are kept in quarantine before being sold for therapeutic purposes.
ILFARM also owns a land which will be used to established open-space artificial lakes filled with water deriving from a natural spring, located in the land itself and whose characteristics correspond to the needs for leech survival and reproduction, as demonstrated by scientific studies (Kumar and Manju, 2018).
Furthermore, we have university labs dedicated to scientific research equipped with specific instruments. The goal of the ILFARM laboratory will be to open its doors to students and PhD students from all national universities.
In the main office it will also be possible to find an area used for the retail sale of ILFARM products.
Passion and reliability, the ingredients that distinguish ILFARM.
The team
ILFARM members are the only ones in Italy to have an established expertise on the immune response, the regenerative capacity of tissues and the reproductive and developmental processed in the two species of leech H. medicinalis and H. verbana.
Nicolò Baranzini - President
Researcher at the DBSV of the University of Insubria
Born in Varese in 1989, he obtained a PhD in Biotechnology, Biosciences and Surgical Techniques in 2019, also carrying out a period abroad at the NeuroMyoGène Institute in Lyon.
His main research activity has always been in the field of invertebrate biology and is currently focused on the innate immune response and tissue regeneration processes in leeches. By means of a multidisciplinary approach, which includes microscopy, biochemistry, bioinformatics and molecular biology techniques, his research has made it possible to broaden the knowledge relating to these biological processes, leading to the discovery of new molecules that have a potential interest for the development of new applications in both the biotechnological and industrial fields.
Annalisa Grimaldi - CEO
Associate Professor of Zoology at the DBSV of the University of Insubria
Born in Milan in 1968, she obtained a PhD in Evolutionary and Developmental Biology at the University of Milan, also carrying out a period abroad at the Randall Institute of King's College London based in London . Since 2019 he is Associate Professor at the Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences of the University of Insubria of Varese.
Expert in in vivo and in vitro experimental models, she has been conducting her research for more than thirty years using the medicinal leech (Hirudo verbana and Hirudo medicinalis) to better understand the mechanisms that regulate the immune response, angiogenesis and tissue regeneration. In recent years his research has also focused on the identification of bioactive molecules produced by the medicinal leech with antibacterial and regenerative activity.
Laura Pulze - CTO
Doctoral Student at the DBSV of the University of Insubria
Born in Somma Lombardo in 1983, she obtained a three-year degree in Health Biology and a master's degree in Biology Applied to Biomedical Research at the University of Insubria, Busto Arsizio.
At the same university he obtained in 2015 a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology. He is currently attending the last year of the PhD course in Life Sciences and Biotechnology.
His research activity falls within the topics included in the declaration of SSD BIO/05-Zoology, and is based on the use of optical, confocal and electron microscopy techniques and molecular biology techniques.
In detail, he has developed these techniques over the years both in vitro (on immortalized cell lines and on primary cultures of cells derived from human blood or from healthy and pathological tissues), and in vivo on mouse models and on the leech invertebrate model, in the following research areas: innate immune response in vertebrate (human neutrophils) and in vertebrate model (leech); Study of processes related to muscle development during embryogenesis and tissue regeneration in the leech H. verbana; In vitro test of bioactive molecules.
Francesco Acquati - R&D MANAGER
Associate Professor at the DBSV of the University of Insubria
Born in Rome in 1963, he graduated cum laude in Biological Sciences at the University of Milan and was awarded an "Adriano Buzzati-Traverso Young Investigator Fellowship" at Boehringer Mannheim (Germany) in the period January 1994 - June 1996 .
Since 2004 he has been Associate Professor of Genetics at the Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences (DBSV) of the University of Insubria.
The most recent research lines of Prof. Acquati are focused on the study of the genetic basis of cancer, with particular interest in the study of the role of interactions between tumor cells and the surrounding microenvironment in tumor progression.
To this end, the most modern techniques have been used and implemented in his laboratory for the development of genetically engineered in vitro and in vivo cellular models, through the use of the most recent technologies in the molecular biological and genetic fields.
The headquarters
University of Insubria, Varese
Research laboratories for the training of students and doctoral students and classrooms for the provision of dedicated workshops.
Company Casalucci Srl
Crosio della Valle (VA)
Indoor breeding and reproduction center equipped with aquariums and temperature-controlled environments for housing leeches.
Artificial lakes
Angera (VA)
Outdoor breeding and breeding center consisting of artificial lakes.
Certifications
Registration of breeding and sale of ATS Insubria leeches pursuant to LR 1/2007 and 33/2009, DGR 4502/2007, 6919/2008 and 8547/08 and DL 78/2010 conv. in Law 122/2010
Looking forward to obtaining ISO9001 certification
