No. 2 Scholarships co-funded by Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Pisa) and Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (Naples) on Marine Biorobotics

http://www.santannapisa.it/en/admissions/call-admission-phd-biorobotics-0

The Ph.D. Program in BioRobotics is a three-year course of advanced studies and supervised research; at the end of the Program, the Ph.D. degree is conferred to students who have fulfilled the didactic requirements and passed a final examination with thesis dissertation.

The Ph.D. Program aims at educating highly competent researchers with the potential to be leaders in this area. The students will be educated in a stimulating and multidisciplinary environment, both through high-level courses and through demanding, creative and original research work. Doctoral research projects will be carried out in very well equipped, state-of-the-art laboratories (in such fields as bio-robotics, micro- and nanotechnology, biomimetics, prosthetics) and through individual and team work performed under the supervision of a committed full-time faculty. The students will investigate how biological systems work from an engineering viewpoint, and will make use of such knowledge to pursue challenging research projects aimed at modeling, designing and building novel components and systems for biomedical applications.
At the end of the Ph.D. Program, students will possess solid scientific and engineering skills, the ability to conceive and carry out original research projects, and an autonomous entrepreneurship spirit.

Research Topic # 1 - Microrobotic system inspired by marine organisms

The aim of this PhD project is to take inspiration from nature and in particular from a Phylum of marine organisms (Annelida) towards the design of high dexterity and high performance microrobots to be employed in different fields, but resulting particularly interesting when foreseeing medical applications.

An anatomically simple, high motility organism can represent a valid inspiration towards the dream to develop smart micromachines able to navigate or meander across the body lumina and to perform desired therapeutic tasks directly in the region of interest. Biopsy, microsurgery and targeted drug delivery are just examples of medical procedures that could benefit from the conceived bioinspired design and by high dexterity, despite of the reduced dimensions.

The candidate will work in strong collaboration with engineers (from Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna - https://www.santannapisa.it/en/institute/biorobotics/surgical-robotics-and-allied-technologies-area) and marine biologists (from Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn di Napoli - http://www.szn.it/index.php/it/). The starting point will be a deep cross-fertilization between engineering and biology: the first one will provide useful tools to the latter for a better understanding of marine organisms’ behavior, functions and performances; on the other hand the acquired biological knowledge will provide specifications and inspiration while conceiving novel smart microsystems.

Research Topic # 2 - Benthic soft robots inspired by marine organisms

The aim of this PhD project is to take as a reference a biological model (animals from the phylum of Arthropoda, subphylum Crustacea) to create an innovative underwater soft robots with augmented environment interaction capabilities. Current underwater vehicles and systems (i.e. AUVs, USV, ROVs, gliders, etc.) demonstrate great locomotion capabilities yet their interaction with underwater structures, rocks, and substrates is poorly performed. On the other hand, recent advancements in the field of soft robotics pushed forward the interaction skills of autonomous systems. By exploiting their compliance, soft robots can safely interact with the seafloor, reefs, underwater structures or other substrates. A key factor in robot-environment interaction relies on the compliance of the robot itself: structures with intrinsic soft components absorb, store, and release energy to provide safe and effective interaction with the environment. The final goal of this PhD project should be the development of autonomous soft robots with augmented capabilities for the exploration and sampling of the benthic zone.

Specific objectives of this project are (i) to investigate locomotion of soft underwater robots, by taking in to account deformation of the mechanism/body; (ii) to derive a reduced-order model to describe soft locomotion; (iii) to build a prototype that demonstrates capabilities and/or advantages of compliant locomotion. This prototype will also carries novel underwater sensors to analyse and inspect the substrate and, as a specific example, it will collect living organisms in the sediment to perform genomic analysis, construct DNA libraries and sequence DNA fragments through High Throughput Sequencing Oxford nanopore technology.

The candidate will benefit from a multi-disciplinary tutoring by engineers (from Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna - https://www.santannapisa.it/en/institute/biorobotics/soft-robotics-area) and marine biologists (from Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn di Napoli - http://www.szn.it/index.php/it/), and the PhD project will be carried in close collaboration between these two institutions. From the engineering side, tools and methods will be provided to achieve a deeper understanding of marine organisms’ behaviour, capabilities, and mathematical model describing the system; from the biological side, fundamental principles of locomotion, living system knowledge, and biological mechanisms will provide insights and specifications to conceive the novel underwater soft robot.

Mette Handberg-Thorsager
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics - Dresden, Germany

The ancestral retinoic acid receptor (RAR) was a sensor triggering neuronal differentiation

Miquel Vila-Farré
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics - Dresden, Germany

Why can some animals regenerate while others cannot? Tracing the evolution of regeneration in planarians

Conference Room

Monday, June 12, 2017 - h15.00

Poster

Alfonsina Milito
Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms Department

Conference Room
Friday, June 9, 2017 - h12.00

Poster

Paul Andrews
Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms Department - Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn
&
St George's, University of London

Conference Room
Thursday, June 8, 2017 - h12.00

Poster

Antonio Villanueva
Estación de Ciencias Mariñas de Toralla - Univesidade de Vigo, Spain

Conference Room
Tuesday June 6, 2017 - h12.00

Poster

The 2017-2019 Three-year-Plan of Activity has been sent to the Ministry of Education, University and Research for approval on May 22, 2017. The document can be read here.

Dalla Sala Conferenze della Stazione Zoologica dell’Anton Dohrn di Napoli, il prossimo 7 Giugno, alle ore 11.30, alla vigilia della "Giornata Mondiale Oceani", il WWF lancerà la Campagna #GenerAzioneMare. Nella prestigiosa sede dell'Ente di Ricerca partenopeo sito presso la Villa Comunale, si alterneranno prestigiosi testimonial in difesa dell'ambiente marino, portatori e messaggeri di un’azione concreta per la tutela del mare e delle coste: pescatori, ricercatori, volontari, aziende, sportivi, gestori di aree protette. Tante voci che si avvicenderanno sul palco per raccontare la propria storia e la propria mission. L’evento verrà coordinato dalla Presidente di WWF Italia, Donatella Bianchi, con la partecipazione del Presidente dalla Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Roberto Danovaro. L'iniziativa potrà essere seguita in diretta streaming sul sito del WWF  http://www.wwf.it.

È gradita la conferma di partecipazione a This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Scarica la locandina

Marco Uttieri
Integrative Marine Ecology Department

Conference Room 
Wednesday, May 31, 2017 - h12.00

Poster

L'evento si svolgerà dal 25 al 28 maggio 2017 a Napoli, presso Piazza del Plebiscito, e vedrà ancora una volta la partecipazione attiva dell’Ente di Ricerca partenopeo.

La Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn di Napoli parteciperà all'appuntamento 2017 di "Futuro Remoto-CONNESSIONI - XXXI Edizione", che si terrà dal 25 al 28 maggio, presso Piazza del Plebiscito a Napoli. L'Ente di Ricerca partenopeo sarà ospitato all'interno dello stand denominato "Messaggi tra le onde", allestito nell'isola tematica Mare Nostrum.  Quest'anno, l'obiettivo sarà quello di accompagnare i visitatori, di diverse fasce di età, alla scoperta dell’affascinante mondo delle “Connessioni”  biologiche negli organismi e negli ecosistemi marini. Nello spazio riservato alla SZN sarà possibile, attraverso pannelli didattici e strumentazioni con tecnologie innovative,  comprendere e scoprire le caratteristiche e le proprietà del Plancton, in particolare, oggetto di attenzione e studio sarà lo Zooplancton.

Dal 25 al 28 Maggio, lo stand “Messaggi tra le onde” sarà trasformato in un vero e proprio laboratorio aperto al pubblico, che potrà così conoscere i meccanismi che regolano le vie di connessione e di comunicazione utilizzate dagli organismi marini. Un’esperienza da non perdere, dunque, in occasione di Futuro Remoto, per scoprire i segreti del mondo marino.

Presentazione del libro

“A Sea of Glass: Searching for the Blaschkas’ Fragile Legacy in an Ocean at Risk”

 e del film “Fragile Legacy di Drew Harvell”

Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn di Napoli

Sala Conferenze – 25 maggio 2017, ore 17,00

Tornano gli appuntamenti organizzati dal Comitato Scienza e Società presso la Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn di Napoli con l’evento “Un mare di vetro”, durante il quale saranno presentati il libro “A Sea of Glass: Searching for the Blaschkas’ Fragile Legacy in an Ocean at Risk” e il film “Fragile Legacy di Drew Harvell”. L’incontro con l’autrice si terrà presso la Sala Conferenze della Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn di Napoli, giovedì 25 maggio, alle ore 17,00. Il libro e il film documentario raccontano di come Drew Harvell abbia trovato, dimenticato in un deposito della sua università, un manufatto sorprendente: un polpo in vetro, riprodotto nei minimi dettagli anatomici e con straordinaria maestria, opera dei maestri vetrai Leopold e Rudolf Blaschka. Ispirata dai fedeli modelli dei Blaschka, la Harvell è partita alla ricerca delle corrispondenti forme viventi, e nel libro “A Sea of Glass” racconta il viaggio di una vita, portando con sé i lettori alla scoperta di un mondo sottomarino animato dall’insolita biologia di alcune tra le più antiche forme di vita. Ad introdurre l’evento saranno: Filippo Barattolo, Università Federico II di Napoli e Graziano Fiorito, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn. Seguirà l’intervento di Drew Harvell, Cornell University, New York. Al termine dell’evento sarà possibile visitare la mostra “La fragilità del mare: Blaschka e la Stazione Zoologica a fine ‘800”.