Yes, of course
From the description of your question, the intent of your email is to contact with academicians within the same or of another institution. That is what an institutional email address mainly for.
Institutional email ids (such as a university email) provide an identity for the user as a member of the institution in addition to be able to separate his professional mails from his own personal email. Certain institutional email ids even give you the facility to automate term leave timings to send a polite reply to the sender if you are away on a vacation.