Chiara moved from Italy to The Netherlands to do her PhD at Leiden University Medical Center, in the Human Genetic Department. During her PhD, she worked on a genetic disease of the kidney (Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease – ADPKD). In particular, she focused on the role of renal injury-repair mechanisms in the development of ADPKD. She started at the MERLN in November 2020 as a Postdoc. Her project aims to use stem cell technology combined with bioprinting to develop functional kidney units that can be used as disease models, drug testing in vitro, but also as a promising regenerative medicine therapy for chronic kidney diseases.