Luca Sala

I am a scientist at the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Genetics, Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS, within the Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias of Genetic Origin directed by Prof. Peter J. Schwartz.

My work is focused on the study of congenital and acquired cardiac arrhythmias with human and patient-specific in vitro models based on human induced pluripotent stem cells.

I aim to understand the complexity of genotype-phenotype relationships for congenital and acquired cardiac arrhythmias and to use in vitro data to provide relevant information to clinicians for patient risk-stratification and precision medicine, harnessing the power of machine learning and automation on biological data.

To ultimately reduce the need for animals in pharmacological and toxicological research, I aim to optimise current drug screening platforms by using patient-specific human-based models and advanced hardware and software tools.

In my free time, I like to code 👨🏻‍💻, ride my mountain bike 🚵🏻‍♂️ and run 🏃🏻.

Research areas

🧬

Disease Modelling

Patient-specific hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes to study genotype-phenotype relationships in Long QT Syndrome and calmodulinopathies.

⚡️

Electrophysiology & Technology

Single-cell and multicellular recordings, contraction analysis, and machine learning for patient risk stratification.

💊

Drug Screening & Precision Medicine

Human-based platforms for cardiotoxicity assessment, drug repurposing, safety pharmacology, and new approach methodologies (NAMs) to reduce animal testing.

The beauty of voltage imaging in hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes

news

Jun 2026	New paper in Biophysics Reviews: A novel optoelectronic platform combining LED-driven pacing and laser optoporation for high-throughput cardiac electrophysiology.
May 2026	New paper in Cardiovascular Research: Machine learning-guided risk stratification for Long QT Syndrome genetic variants with hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes.
May 2026	New paper in European Heart Journal: MTMR4 variants have opposite gene-specific impact on life-threatening arrhythmic risk in type 1 and 2 long QT syndrome.
May 2026	New paper in Nature Communications: An organic artificial cardiomyocyte.
Apr 2026	New paper in Biosensors and Bioelectronics: High-throughput contractility analysis platform for drug-response evaluation of hiPSC-derived cardiac models based on dynamic frequency conditioning.
Apr 2026	New paper in Pharmacological Research: SGK1-inhibition restores cardiac repolarization in LQT2 rabbits and LQT3 mice by reducing late sodium current.
Feb 2026	New paper in Advanced Science: Beyond Transconductance: Cell-Polymer Coupling Determines Fidelity in Action Potential Recording via Electrolyte-Gated Polymer Transistors.
Dec 2025	Appointed as Junior PI at the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Genetics, Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS, within the Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias of Genetic Origin.
Aug 2025	New paper in Nature Communications: Non-invasive action potential recordings using printed electrolyte-gated polymer field-effect transistors.
Mar 2025	New preprint in medRxiv: Genetic variants risk assessment for Long QT Syndrome through machine learning and multielectrode array recordings.

selected publications

CVR

Machine learning-guided risk stratification for Long QT Syndrome genetic variants with hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes

Aleksandr Khudiakov, Manuela Mura, Federica Giannetti, Vladislav Leonov, Chiara Alberio, Marem Eskandr, Paola Adele Lonati, Maria Orietta Borghi, Paul A Brink, Lia Crotti, Massimiliano Gnecchi, Peter J Schwartz, and Luca Sala^#

Cardiovascular Research, 2026

Bib DOI

@article{khudiakov2026machine,
  title = {Machine learning-guided risk stratification for Long QT Syndrome genetic variants with hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes},
  author = {Khudiakov, Aleksandr and Mura, Manuela and Giannetti, Federica and Leonov, Vladislav and Alberio, Chiara and Eskandr, Marem and Lonati, Paola Adele and Borghi, Maria Orietta and Brink, Paul A and Crotti, Lia and Gnecchi, Massimiliano and Schwartz, Peter J and Sala, Luca},
  journal = {Cardiovascular Research},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1093/cvr/cvag105},
  status = {corresponding},
  dimensions = {true}
}

NatComm

An organic artificial cardiomyocyte

Dace Gao, Junpeng Ji, Simone De Prà, Miao Xiong, Wenlong Jin, Ugo Bruno, Han-Yan Wu, Aleksandr Khudiakov, Andreas W Erhardt, Chi-Yuan Yang, Peter J Schwartz, Luca Sala, Iain McCulloch, Adrica Kyndiah, Mario Caironi, Magnus Berggren, Deyu Tu, and Simone Fabiano

Nature Communications, 2026

Bib DOI

@article{gao2026organic,
  title = {An organic artificial cardiomyocyte},
  author = {Gao, Dace and Ji, Junpeng and De Pr{\`a}, Simone and Xiong, Miao and Jin, Wenlong and Bruno, Ugo and Wu, Han-Yan and Khudiakov, Aleksandr and Erhardt, Andreas W and Yang, Chi-Yuan and Schwartz, Peter J and Sala, Luca and McCulloch, Iain and Kyndiah, Adrica and Caironi, Mario and Berggren, Magnus and Tu, Deyu and Fabiano, Simone},
  journal = {Nature Communications},
  volume = {17},
  number = {1},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-72584-5},
  dimensions = {true}
}

NatComm

Non-invasive action potential recordings using printed electrolyte-gated polymer field-effect transistors

Adrica Kyndiah, Giulia Zoe Zemignani, Carlotta Ronchi, Gabriele Tullii, Aleksandr Khudiakov, Giuseppina Iachetta, Stefano Chiodini, Rosalia Moreddu, Fabrizio Antonio Viola, Peter J. Schwartz, Gabriel Gomila, Francesco De Angelis, Luca Sala^#, Maria Rosa Antognazza, and Mario Caironi

Nature Communications, 2025

Bib DOI

@article{kyndiah_non-invasive_2025,
  title = {Non-invasive action potential recordings using printed electrolyte-gated polymer field-effect transistors},
  author = {Kyndiah, Adrica and Zemignani, Giulia Zoe and Ronchi, Carlotta and Tullii, Gabriele and Khudiakov, Aleksandr and Iachetta, Giuseppina and Chiodini, Stefano and Moreddu, Rosalia and Viola, Fabrizio Antonio and Schwartz, Peter J. and Gomila, Gabriel and De Angelis, Francesco and Sala, Luca and Antognazza, Maria Rosa and Caironi, Mario},
  journal = {Nature Communications},
  volume = {16},
  number = {1},
  pages = {8143},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1038/s41467-025-63484-1},
  status = {corresponding},
  dimensions = {true}
}

Circ

Multiplexed assays of variant effect and automated patch clamping improve KCNH2-LQTS variant classification and cardiac event risk stratification

Matthew J O’Neill, Chai-Ann Ng, Takanori Aizawa, Luca Sala, Sahej Bains, Annika Winbo, Rizwan Ullah, Qianyi Shen, Chek-Ying Tan, Krystian Kozek, and others

Circulation, 2024

Bib DOI

@article{o2024multiplexed,
  title = {Multiplexed assays of variant effect and automated patch clamping improve KCNH2-LQTS variant classification and cardiac event risk stratification},
  author = {O'Neill, Matthew J and Ng, Chai-Ann and Aizawa, Takanori and Sala, Luca and Bains, Sahej and Winbo, Annika and Ullah, Rizwan and Shen, Qianyi and Tan, Chek-Ying and Kozek, Krystian and others},
  journal = {Circulation},
  volume = {150},
  number = {23},
  pages = {1869--1881},
  year = {2024},
  publisher = {Lippincott Williams \& Wilkins Hagerstown, MD},
  doi = {10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.124.069828},
  dimensions = {true}
}

CircRes

MUSCLEMOTION: a versatile open software tool to quantify cardiomyocyte and cardiac muscle contraction in vitro and in vivo

Luca Sala^*, Berend J Van Meer, Leon GJ Tertoolen, Jeroen Bakkers, Milena Bellin, Richard P Davis, Chris Denning, Michel AE Dieben, Thomas Eschenhagen, Elisa Giacomelli, and others

Circulation research, 2018

Bib DOI

@article{sala2018musclemotion,
  title = {MUSCLEMOTION: a versatile open software tool to quantify cardiomyocyte and cardiac muscle contraction in vitro and in vivo},
  author = {Sala, Luca and Van Meer, Berend J and Tertoolen, Leon GJ and Bakkers, Jeroen and Bellin, Milena and Davis, Richard P and Denning, Chris and Dieben, Michel AE and Eschenhagen, Thomas and Giacomelli, Elisa and others},
  journal = {Circulation research},
  volume = {122},
  number = {3},
  pages = {e5--e16},
  year = {2018},
  publisher = {Am Heart Assoc},
  doi = {10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.117.312067},
  status = {shared-first},
  dimensions = {true}
}

BJP

Integrating cardiomyocytes from human pluripotent stem cells in safety pharmacology: has the time come?

Luca Sala, Milena Bellin, and Christine L Mummery

British journal of pharmacology, 2017

Bib DOI

@article{sala2017integrating,
  title = {Integrating cardiomyocytes from human pluripotent stem cells in safety pharmacology: has the time come?},
  author = {Sala, Luca and Bellin, Milena and Mummery, Christine L},
  journal = {British journal of pharmacology},
  volume = {174},
  number = {21},
  pages = {3749--3765},
  year = {2017},
  publisher = {Wiley Online Library},
  doi = {10.1111/bph.13577},
  dimensions = {true}
}

EMBO MM

A new hERG allosteric modulator rescues genetic and drug-induced long-QT syndrome phenotypes in cardiomyocytes from isogenic pairs of patient induced pluripotent stem cells

Luca Sala, Zhiyi Yu, Dorien Ward-van Oostwaard, Jacobus PD Veldhoven, Alessandra Moretti, Karl-Ludwig Laugwitz, Christine L Mummery, Adriaan P IJzerman, and Milena Bellin

EMBO molecular medicine, 2016

Bib DOI

@article{sala2016new,
  title = {A new hERG allosteric modulator rescues genetic and drug-induced long-QT syndrome phenotypes in cardiomyocytes from isogenic pairs of patient induced pluripotent stem cells},
  author = {Sala, Luca and Yu, Zhiyi and Ward-van Oostwaard, Dorien and van Veldhoven, Jacobus PD and Moretti, Alessandra and Laugwitz, Karl-Ludwig and Mummery, Christine L and IJzerman, Adriaan P and Bellin, Milena},
  journal = {EMBO molecular medicine},
  volume = {8},
  number = {9},
  pages = {1065--1081},
  year = {2016},
  doi = {10.15252/emmm.201606260},
  dimensions = {true}
}