Regenerative Medicine Applications in Organ Transplantation

Transplant surgeon scientist, specializing in kidney and pancreas transplantation, as well as in abdominal organ bioengineering and regeneration. My main achievements have been in the field of steroid-free immunosuppression (IS), IS minimization and clinical tolerance after liver transplantation, as well as in the development of platforms for renal, small bowel and endocrine pancreas bioengineering and regeneration research. The main goal of my investigations is to bio-engineer and implant in humans renal organoids, insulin-producing cells and segments of small bowel. The ability to produce kidneys, insulin-producing cells and small bowel from patient's own cells will revolutionize transplant medicine. The main goal of my scientific production is to orchestrate the transition of organ transplantation towards a regenerative medicine-focused type of research. I originally hail from Rome, Italy, where I grew up, matriculated, attended medical school, and received training in general and transplant surgery. I also participated in fellowships in Paris (Liver Unit, Paul Brousse Hospital, Dir: Henri Bismuth, 6 months) and Brussels (General and Transplant Surgery, Catholic University of Leuven, Dir: Jan Lerut, Jean Bernard Otte, Jean De Ville De Goyet, 31 months). 2006-2008, I was a practicing transplant surgeon at the University of L'Aquila, Italy. 2008-2011, I received and implemented the distinguished Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship, for which I spent 2 years at the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine (Winston Salem, USA) and 1 year at the Transplant Research Immunology Group (Oxford, UK), specializing in organ bioengineering and regeneration and transplant immunology. I have authored more than 135 research papers, review articles, and book chapters. I have just published - as editor in chief - a book on organ transplantation and regenerative medicine which is destined to set a new standard in transplant and regenerative medicine literature and to become a referral work for the future generations of specialists of both fields. I am a member of numerous transplant societies and am on the board and act as a regular reviewer for a number of relevant journals.