After receiving the B.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Padova (IT), Massmio moved to the University of Pavia (IT) where he received the M.Sc. degree in Bioengineering and the Ph.D. in Bioengineering and Bioinformatics.
From 2014 to May 2020, he worked at the Centre of Health Technologies and at the Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Pavia (IT), focusing his resarch in the field of Synthetic Biology.
Between 2017 and 2020 he collaborated as Visiting Researcher at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and at the Center of Synthetic Biology of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA.
In 2020, he moved to the Department of Information Engineering at the University of Padova. He collaborates with the Department of Molecular Medicine to start a novel research line in Synthetic Biology, applied to Microbiome Engineering, by adopting Systems biology as bridging discipline between the two scientific fields.
In particular, his current research is amed to model complex quorum sensing mechanisms involved in bacterial Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), and design engineerd bacterial controllers against AMR as novel therapeutics.
Broadly speaking, his main research activities are - not limited to - rational design, construction and modeling of synthetic genetic controllers and logics in living cells, CRISPR interference technology, cross-kingdom cell communication and microbiome.

PhD in Bioengineering and Bioinformatics
at the University of Pavia, Italy

Oct 2015 - Jan 2019
Thesis title: Overcoming Metabolic Burden in Synthetic Biology: A CRISPR-interference Approach.
Advisor: Prof. Paolo Magni, Prof. Lorenzo Pasotti

Master's Degree in Bioengineering
at the University of Pavia, Italy

Oct 2012 - Jul 2015
Thesis title: Progettazione bottom-up di sistemi biologici: debug di circuiti genetici interconnessi mediante approcci in-vivo ed in-silico.
Advisor: Prof. Paolo Magni

Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering
at the University of Padova, Italy

Oct 2008 - Jul 2012
Thesis title: Il sistema Bose Electroforce per la caratterizzazione del comportamento a trazione di pericardio bovino e porcino.
Advisor: Prof. Andrea Bagno

Senior Postdoctoral Researcher
at Dept. of Information Engineering, University of Padova, Italy

Jan 2022 - Present

Junior Postdoctoral Researcher
at Dept. of Information Engineering, University of Padova, Italy

May 2020 - Dec 2021

Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher
at Del Vecchio Laboratory, Synthetic Biology Centre - SBC
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

Jan 2020 - Feb 2020

Junior Postdoctoral Researcher
at BMS Laboratory (Dept. Industrial and Information Engineering) and Centre for Health Technologies - CHT, University of Pavia, Italy

Oct 2018 - April 2020

Visiting PhD Student
at Del Vecchio Laboratory, Synthetic Biology Centre - SBC
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

Aug 2017 - Mar 2018

Synthetic and Systems Biology as novel interdisciplinary research fields and enabling technologies

Microbiome Engineering, in particular:
- Study of quorum sensing mechanisms in bacterial pathogens
- Treatment of AMR bacterial infections and study of AMR escape strategies in P.aeruginosa, K.pneumoniaeand A.baumannii
- Treatment of C.difficile infection through bile salts control
Synthetic Biology basic research, in particular:
- Mathematical modeling of biological context dependencies
- Genetic feedback controllers
- Quorum sensing and quorum quenching modeling
CRISPR technology and applications, in particular:
- CRISPR-interference for reduced-burden circuit design
- CRISPR-interference gRNAs competition
- CRISPRi-based genetic controllers
Cross-kingdom gene regulation.

Graduation to Professional Information Engineer Italian legislation

Dec 2015 - Pavia, Italy

"Silvio Cavalcanti Award" for the Best Master Thesis from the National Group of Bioengineering

Sep 2015 - Brixen, Italy

M Bellato, A Frusteri Chiacchiera, E Salibi, M Casanova, D De Marchi, I Castagliuolo, MG Cusella De Angelis, P Magni, L Pasotti
CRISPR interference modules as low-burden logic inverters in synthetic circuits
Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology | synthetic biology , 2022
DOI:10.3389/fbioe.2021.743950

HH Huang and M Bellato, Y Qian, P Carrdenas, L Pasotti, P Magni, D Del Vecchio
dCas9 regulator to neutralize competition in CRISPRi cirucits
Nature communications , 2021, 12(1)
DOI:10.1038/s41467-021-21772-6

M Bellato, D De Marchi, C Gualtieri, E Sauta, P Magni, A Macovei, L Pasotti
A Bioinformatics Approach to Explore MicroRNAs as Tools to Bridge Pathways Between Plants and Animals. Is DNA Damage Response (DDR) a Potential Target Process?
Frontiers in plant science , 2019, 10
DOI:10.3389/fpls.2019.01535

L Pasotti, M Bellato, D De Marchi, P Magni
Mechanistic models of inducible synthetic circuits for joint description of DNA copy number, regulatory protein level, and cell load
Processes, 2019, 3(7)
DOI:10.3390/pr7030119

L Pasotti, M Bellato, M Casanova, S Zucca, MG Cusella De Angelis, P Magni
Re-using biological devices: a model-aided analysis of interconnected transcriptional cascades designed from the bottom-up
Journal of Biological Engineering, 2017, 50(11)
DOI:10.1186/s13036-017-0090-3

Check all publication list here

Founding member of National Group of Bioengineering since 2019

Young Professional Member of the IEEE-EMB group since 2016

Member of the AIChE-SBE since 2018

Member of the ESCMID since 2021

Co-founder of the MIT-Visiting Student Association (ViStA) since 2016

Journal referee: IEEE Control Systems Letters, Scientific Reports, MDPI journals (Processes, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Membranes, Applied Sciences, Material, Modeling, Axioms)

Conference referee: European Control Conference (ECC) 2022

Conference oral presentation: "Mathematical model-based prediction of metabolic burden effects in interconnected synthetic gene circuits" at the 3rd International Synthetic and Systems Biology Summer School

Volterra (Pisa), 2016, Italy

Conference oral presentation: "Study of a genetic negative feedback controller via bottom-up approach and mathematical modelling" at Gruppo Nazionale Bioingegneria 2016

Naples, 2016, Italy

Conference oral presentation: "Engineering of a dCas9 feedback regulator to neutralize competition effects in CRISPRi-based genetic circuits" at Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Conference (BBCC) 2020 Meeting

Virtual Conference, 2020

Conference oral presentation: "Novel multi- input logic gates for Synthetic Biology: analysis of the interaction between transcription factors and CRISPR interference" at Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Conference (BBCC) 2021 Meeting

Virtual Conference, 2021

AY 2022/23: Adjunct Professor - Teacher in charge
at “Synthetic Biology” (2 CFU), first cycle degree course in Biotechnologyies, Biology and Biotechnology Department - University of Padova
AYs 2021/22 - 2022/23: Adjunct Professor - Lecturer
at “Systems Biology” (1 CFU), second cycle degree course in Control Engineering, Information Engineering Department - University of Padova
AYs 2016/17 - 2017/18 - 2018/19: Invited lecturer
“Genome editing and CRISPR technologies” ADE seminar series at Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine - University of Pavia
AY 2016 - 2017: Teaching assistant
"Mathematics for newly-registered in Engineering" course - University of Pavia

Massimo Bellato has served as:

Supervisor for 3 BS student in Biomedical engineering
co-supervisor for 1 BS student in Biomedical engineering, 1 MS student in Medical Biotechnology, 2 MS student in Sanitary Biology, 1 MS student in Pharmacy, 1 MS in Control Engineering at University of Padova;
co-supervisor for 8 MS students in Bioengineering, 1 MS student in Advanced Biotechnology, 1 MS student in Biology and Genetics, 1 MS student in Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at University of Pavia;