When trying to solve problems of bone-related disorders and injuries observed in clinics, Giuseppe Intini doesn’t just take the research to the lab—he takes it to space.
A periodontist and an associate professor of periodontics and preventive dentistry in the School of Dental Medicine, Intini examines the functions of skeletal stem cells, which are crucial for bone growth and repair. Specifically, his team explores the potential of skeletal stem cells to advance therapies in areas like bone regeneration; craniofacial malformations; periodontal regeneration; and osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer.
Three years ago, Intini and his team launched their research into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as part of a NASA/Center for the Advancement of Science in Space-sponsored SpaceX mission to the International Space Station. Astronauts experience bone density loss and subsequent bone fragility due to microgravity, similar to osteoporosis on Earth, suggesting that skeletal stem cells behave differently when not under the influence of gravity.
“The idea is to look at bone loss and regeneration under microgravity,” Intini explains. “That research can help astronauts, and it can help people here on the ground, too.”
Back on Earth, Intini’s research continues. He recently was awarded a National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research grant to study periodontal stem cells and regeneration, and his lab is exploring the spatial transcriptomics of human osteosarcoma tissue to understand gene expression patterns in the disease. Intini collaborates regularly with clinicians at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and with scientists and engineers in the Pitt Space initiative. He credits these partnerships for his success.
“We work together. We do things together,” he says. “That’s the Pitt difference.”