Biography

Research interests: tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

Clinical interests: dermatology, physical medicine & rehabilitation

Sofia Vignolo received her Bachelor of Science in biomedical engineering from the University of Miami in 2018. Following graduation, she worked as a research data manager in the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children's Hospital. In 2020, she joined the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). 

Sofia completed her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in December 2025 under the mentorship of Dr. Luiz Bertassoni, which focused on engineering biomimetic collagen-based biomaterials for craniofacial bone regeneration. 

As an ARCS Scholar and NIH NRSA F31 fellow, Sofia has received support for her research and training throughout her graduate studies. She is currently completing the clinical phase of her MD training at OHSU, with career interests in dermatology and physical medicine & rehabilitation.

Beyond her academic pursuits, Sofia is passionate about mentorship, education, and community engagement. She previously served as President of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Student Chapter at OHSU and as Program Director of the Partnership for Scientific Inquiry (PSI), a mentorship program that introduces biomedical research to high school students from historically underrepresented backgrounds across Oregon.

Selected publications

Vignolo, Sofia M et al. “Engineering bioinspired, high-density collagen microgels with tunable intrafibrillar mineralization for accelerated osteogenesis in vitro and bone regeneration in vivo.” Acta biomaterialia, S1742-7061(26)00076-0. 4 Feb. 2026, doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2026.02.003

Vignolo SM, Roth DM, Wu L, Cosgrove J, Bertassoni LE. Strategies for craniofacial tissue engineering: innovations for scalable bone regeneration. Plast Aesthet Res. 2025;12:20. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2347-9264.2025.09

Gonzalez GC, Li CM, Pasolini I, Pete SI, Verheyen C, Vignolo SM, De Toni T, Stock AA, Tomei AA. High-Yield Generation of Glucose-Responsive Pseudoislets From Murine Insulinoma Cells for In Vitro Studies and Longitudinal Monitoring of Graft Survival In Vivo. Cell Transplant. 2025 Jan-Dec;34:9636897251315123. doi: 10.1177/09636897251315123. PMID: 39881520; PMCID: PMC11780636.

da Costa Sousa MG*, Vignolo SM*, Franca CM, Mereness J, Alves Fraga MA, Silva-Sousa AC, Benoit DSW, Bertassoni LE. Engineering models of head and neck and oral cancers on-a-chip. Biomicrofluidics. 2024 Mar 6;18(2):021502. doi: 10.1063/5.0186722. PMID: 38464668; PMCID: PMC10919958. (*co-first authors)

Strandmark J, Darboe A, Diray-Arce J, Ben-Othman R, Vignolo SM, Rao S, et al. A single birth dose of Hepatitis B vaccine induces polyfunctional CD4(+) T helper cells. Front Immunol. 2022;13:1043375. Epub 20221108. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1043375. PubMed PMID: 36426360; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9681035.

Vignolo SM, Diray-Arce J, McEnaney K, Rao S, Shannon CP, Idoko OT, et al. A cloud-based bioinformatic analytic infrastructure and Data Management Core for the Expanded Program on Immunization Consortium. J Clin Transl Sci. 2020;5(1):e52. Epub 20200922. doi: 10.1017/cts.2020.546. PubMed PMID: 33948273; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8057481.

Lee AH, Shannon CP, Amenyogbe N, ... Consortium E (Vignolo S) et al. Dynamic molecular changes during the first week of human life follow a robust developmental trajectory. Nat Commun. 2019;10(1):1092. Epub 20190312. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-08794-x. PubMed PMID: 30862783; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6414553.

Orbay JL, Gray R, Vernon LL, Sandilands SM, Martin AR, Vignolo SM. The EFCR Approach and the Radial Septum-Understanding the Anatomy and Improving Volar Exposure for Distal Radius Fractures: Imagine What You Could Do With an Extra Inch. Tech Hand Up Extrem Surg. 2016;20(4):155-60. doi: 10.1097/BTH.0000000000000139. PubMed PMID: 27801774.