Gina La Sala

Degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’. PhD in Science and
Biotechnology of Reproduction and Development at the University of Tor Vergata (2009). She is
currently a Senior Technologist at the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology of the Department
of Biomedical Sciences of the National Research Council (CNR).
She has always worked in the field of biomedical research studying human diseases. For over a
decade, she worked in the International Research Infrastructures of the European Mouse Mutant
Archive (EMMA) and the Monterotondo Mouse Clinic (MMC) at the CNR in Monterotondo. In
this context, she has been involved in the generation, primary phenotypic analysis, cryopreservation
and distribution of mouse mutant strains, which are considered innovative models for the study of
human diseases. In particular, her research has focused on the phenotypic characterization of mutant
mouse models for orphan G protein-coupled receptors (Gpr37 and Gpr37L1) involved in cerebellar
development and related disorders, as well as in the development of the male reproductive system.
Previously, she worked in the histology laboratory of Tor Vergata, where she studied environmental
xenoestrogen-induced infertility, with a particular interest in primordial germ cells (PGCs) and
embryonic gonadal development. Her current work in the histology laboratory focuses on the
biology of female reproduction, in particular the mechanisms that regulate oogenesis and the
maintenance of ovarian reserve, as well as the early stages of embryo-endometrial interaction. She
is also involved in the study of diabetic retinal pathology and the role of Müller cells.