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Dr. Daniela Pini is the Head of the Cardio-respiratory rehabilitation Unit.

Medical areas of interest: Dr. Daniela Pini has been working and researching heart failure and has gained considerable experience in the management of advanced forms of this pathology. She is also very interested in the evaluation and "overall" management of patients suffering from this disease, which mainly affects elderly people and who already have other chronic diseases, which, if neglected, can easily impair the effectiveness of treatment for heart failure itself.

Research areas of interest: new therapies for advanced heart failure: replacement therapy of the heart with mechanical assistance devices to the circulation or heart transplant. New drugs and devices. Multidisciplinary patient management programs.

Further information of interest: thanks to the high competence of cardiosurgeons, electrophysiologists and hemodynamists, Humanitas can count, as a clinical cardiologist, on a team that allows it to offer the patient all the range of therapeutic options for heart failure.

From June 2000 to October 2001 she was Visiting Assistant Professor at the Cardiovascular Division Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. During this period, she worked in the Heart Failure/Heart Transplantation Program, where she participated in the management of patients with advanced heart failure waiting for transplantation, dealing in particular with medical complications in patients with mechanical assistance devices. She has also worked with kidney, kidney-pancreas, pancreas-insulae, lung, liver and heart transplant teams, dealing with the multiple aspects of managing solid organ transplant recipients.

She worked in the Niguarda Ca' Granda Hospital, at the Cardiomyopathy and Heart Transplantation Service, dealing mainly with patients with advanced heart failure and undergoing a cardiac transplant.

Dr. Pini is a member of the coordination committee of the Decompensation Area of the National Association of Medical Hospital Cardiologists – ANMCO. In the last two years she has been mainly concerned on building a network of “heart failure clinics” on the national territory.

Dr. Federico Pessina is the Cranial Neurosurgey Unit Director.

Medical areas of interest: Brain tumors, glioblastomas, low grade gliomas, brain metastases, meningiomas, neuromas, cavernous angiomas, brain aneurysms

Surgical treatment with brain mapping techniques, awake and minimally invasive surgery of all central nervous system tumors.

Surgical treatment of highly complex tumors of the skull base and cranio-cervical hinge: meningiomas, neuromas, craniopharyngiomas, brain stem tumors.

All the tumor pathologies described above are addressed after multidisciplinary multi-specialist evaluation.

The surgical approach is customized to the patient and to the type of lesion, making use of the most advanced intraoperative techniques for malignant brain tumors (neuronavigation, intraoperative neurophysiology, intraoperative CT) and more complex approaches (anterior, posterior and combined petroosectomies, minimally invasive accesses) for benign diseases of the skull base such as meningiomas and neuromas.

Research areas of interest: Experimental protocols in the treatment of glioblastomas

- Prospective protocols in the treatment of brain metastases

- Role of surgical removal and integrated treatments in glioblastomas and malignant brain tumors

- Intracranial meningiomas

- Cadaver lab dissection

Author of more than 60 scientific publications and 5 book chapters, he is member of Italian Society of Neurosurgery (SINCH).

In 2018 he joined the Scientific Committee of European Society of Neuroncology (EANO) and the Skull Base Surgery Committee of World Federation of Neurosurgical Society (WFNS).

Specialized training: 

Prof. Pessina obtained his Degree in Medicine and Surgery in University of  Insubria,  Varese, where he also completed his Residency Program.

From 2007 to 2008 he covered the role of Clinical Fellow in Neurosurgery in Lausanne University Hospital, focusing on image-guided intrinsic brain tumors resection and vascular neurosurgery

In 2018 he covered the Skull Base fellow position in Lariboisiere Hospital, Paris, fully dedicating to skull base surgery and hands-on dissection practice and teaching.

Since 2022, he is Full Professor in Neurosurgery (MED/27) in Humanitas University

Additional information of interest:

Member of the Scientific Committee of the European Association of Neuroncology (EANO)

Publications:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Pessina+Federico

Dr. Giuseppe Marinari is a specialist in general surgery (1991) and nutrition (1995). He started his career in Bariatric Surgery in 1987 and, since then, he has performed over 7000 bariatric procedures, mainly Sleeve Gastrectomy, Gastric Bypass, and Biliopancreatic Diversion. Dr. Giuseppe Marinari has international experience, and he is one of the leading Bariatric surgeons in Italy. Over the past 10 years, he has focused on the implementation of a high-volume centre (>1250 procedures in 2019). Since 2016, he adopted an Enhanced Recovery After Bariatric Surgery (ERABS) protocol, to improve benefits for the patient. In essence, this means a faster recovery and an early return to daily activities, with a very high patient approval rating.

Obesity is a complex condition that encompasses a variety of comorbidities. Therefore, the role of a bariatric surgeon is multidisciplinary, including the understanding (and sometimes treating) of comorbidities as well as performing surgery.

Bariatrics interested Dr. Giuseppe Marinari at first because it was a new and growing field. He then developed an appreciation for the multidisciplinary aspect. Now Dr. Giuseppe Marinari is eager to help people transform their lives.

Dr. Giuseppe Marinari  was mentored by Prof. N. Scopinaro at the University Hospital in Genoa, Italy. He invented the biliopancreatic diversion (with or without duodenal switch), a malabsorptive bariatric operation. Dr. Marinari is now Director of the Bariatric Center. He has international experience and is one of the leading surgeons in his field. He performs both restrictive and malabsorbative bariatric procedures, mainly using the laparoscopic approach. In Humanitas Reasearch Hospital patients are treated by a multi-disciplinary team. The patients are given full attention and support throughout all the steps along the treatment.

Publications: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=marinari+giuseppe

Professor Antonino Spinelli is the Director of the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Humanitas Research Hospital.

The Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery is one of the most important centres for colorectal disease, especially for procedures of sphincter preservation for rectal tumours, but also for chronic inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn disease, ulcerative rectal colitis…) and the surgical treatment of diverticular pathologies. 

Professor Spinelli carries out a constant research on minimally invasive surgeries, including the single-port surgery, mini-laparoscopy, low-impact surgery and trans-anal techniques (TATME, TAMIS, TTSS). Furthermore, the advanced postoperative recovering is another area of his interest.

He graduated as MD in 2001 at University of Milano. During his education, he won several scholarships: he trained ad University of Berlin Charitè for two years at the Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery. Also, he obtained his PhD on Surgical Phsyiopathology with a dissertation on enhanced recovery for laparoscopic colorectal surgery in 2011. 

Current Teaching Activity: he is Full Professor of Surgery at Humanitas University. 

Also, Professor Spinelli is general Secretary of the European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) and Board Member of the Guidelines Committee (GulCom) of the European Crohn Disease and Colitis Organization (ECCO). He is Fellow of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgery (FASCRS), Honorary Fellow of the Czech Society of Surgery (CSS) and Honorary Member of the Brazilian College of Digestive Surgery (CBCD). 

He is a member of the International Organization for the study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IOIBD) and several other national and international scientific societies. 

In addition, Professor Spinelli serves as Associate Editor for Colorectal Disease (Journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain & Ireland, Royal College of Surgeons of England, of the European Society of Coloproctology and of the Spanish Society of Coloproctology – Asociación Española de Coloproctología), Diseases of the Colon and Rectum (official journal of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons), Journal of the Anus, Rectum and Colon (official journal of the Japan Society of Coloproctology).

He is Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Crohn’s Colitis (official journal of the European Crohn’s Colitis Organization), Advisory Board of Coloproctology (official journal of the German Society for Coloproctology – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Koloproktologie) and Editorial Board Member of Updates in Surgery (official journal of the Italian Society of Surgery – Società Italiana di Chirurgia).

Professor Carlo Selmi is leading the Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology Unit at Humanitas Research Hospital. 

Since 2009, he is the responsible of the Autoimmunity and Metabolic Laboratory, dedicated to the study of the possible mechanism linked to the progression of autoimmune diseases. 

The research focuses on four main areas: 

• - The epigenetic mechanisms that regulate the environment-genomic interface by influencing the susceptibility and the phenotype of chronic autoimmune and inflammatory diseases in the model of discordant monozygotic twins for disease. To date, the laboratory has biological sample of discordant couples for numerous diseases.
• - The target antigens of autoimmunity modifications that affect the development of the course of autoimmune diseases. In particular, the laboratory studies the post-translational modifications of joint collagen in rheumatoid arthritis.
• - The prevalence of non-organ autoantibodies, such as anti-nucleus and anti-ENAs and disease specific autoantibodies, such as anti-citrulline and anti-endomysium in a non-specific population of health adults and the significance of the positive founds over time.
• - Gender medicine in real-life, through the analysis of administrative databases.

The team holds dedicated clinics also for, spondiloarthritis and connetcive tissue disease, and it is active in articular ultrasound, videocapillaroscopy, arthrocenthesis and joint injection of steroid or hyaluronic acid.  The Division includes an inpatient clinic for complex cases. All group members are fluent in spoken and written English

Current Teaching Activity: Professor Selmi works as Assistant Professor of Rheumatology at the University of Milan since 2006. Furthermore, he holds a joint appointment as Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Division of Rheumatology of the University of California at Davis since 2005.

He is member of the American College of Rheumatology, American Association of Allergists and Immunologists, and the Italian Society of Rheumatology. He serves on the International Group for Research on Psoriatic Disease (GRAPPA) and the working group for autoantibody standardization within the ACR (ASC).

Publications: Selmi C[Author] - Search Results - PubMed (nih.gov)

Professor Santoro is heavily involved in research, with interest in many topics, such as the development of new cancer drugs and new biological therapies, interests for solid and haematological tumours, and not only he treats cancer survivors but also patients with comorbidities.

He has worked in Humanitas Research Hospital for 22 years. Professor Santoro’s post-graduate research was carried out at the Unité de Development Therapeutique (Institut de Cancerologie et d’Immunogenetique, Villejuif of Paris) from 1974 to 1975, and in the Division of Medical Oncology of the National Cancer Institute of Milan from 1976 to 1977. 

In 1977, he specialized in Clinical and Laboratory Haematology at University of Rome. In 1979, he completed his fellowship post-graduate work in the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of New York and later, at Stanford University. In 1980, he specialized in oncology at the University of Genoa. 

Current Teaching Activity: Professor Santoro worked as Contract Professor at the Specialization School in Clinical Pathology ad Pavia University from 1992 to 1997. Also, from 1993 to 2002 he has been President of the Rare Tumour Group. Now he is full professor at Humanitas University. 

Current Positions: 

• .Since 1997, he is the Director of the Department of Medical Oncology and Haematology, at Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Milan. Also, he is Member of the Ethics Committee of Istituto Clinico Humanitas and Director of Clinical Research in the same Institute since 2007.
• - Since 2008, he is Member of the Planning Committee, Ministry of Work and of Health and Social Politics, Rome, Italy.
• - Since October 2008, Professor Santoro is Counsellor of the Board of Directors of the Fondazione Humanitas for Research of Rozzano, Italy.
• - Since November 2008, he is Expert Member of the National Centre for the Prevention and Control of Disease, Ministry of Work and of Health and Social Politics (Rome, Italy).
• - Since February 2009, he is National Representative preparatory actions for the "European Partnership for Action against Cancer" Ministry of Work and of Health and Social Politics (Rome, Italy).
• - Since February 2009, Professor Santoro is member of National Italian Committee on the Research Network in Oncology, Ministry of Work and of Health and Social Politics (Rome, Italy).
• - Since May 2009, he is Coordinator of the Oesophageal-Stomach Cancer Group Coordinator of the Liver and Biliary Tree Cancer Group, Regional Oncology Commission – Lombardy Oncology Network.

In addition, Professor Santoro’s unique expertise was recognized through numerous awards, such as the Managing Doctor of the Year award (2013), the City of Siena S. Caterina d’Oro Award (2013, Serra Association Award for scientific research) and social and healthcare commitment (Salerno, 2009). 

Publications: santoro%a - Search Results - PubMed (nih.gov) 

Dr. Lorenzo Di Mento is the Head of the Traumatology Unit in Humanitas Research Hospital. He is also part of the council of AO Trauma Italy with the role of Community Development. 

He specialized in Orthopaedics and Traumatology at the University of Milan (2000-2005), completing several internships abroad:

• 2003 Marseille (France), Centre Phocea, Dr. Bronsard, vertebral surgery
• 2003 Marseille (France), Hopital Nord, Dr. Poitout, traumatology
• 2003-2004 Basse Terre (Guadeloupe), Centro Ospedaliero de la Basse Terre (CHBT), dr Fleurat, acting as intern (equivalent of the French specializing)

He also completed a Fellowship of AO Trauma International at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vadois (CHUV) in Lausanne (Switzerland) in 2016, at the center of pelvic surgery and treatment of septic complications in orthopedics and traumatology, directed by Dr. Borens.

He surgically treats fractures, both acutely ongoing ones (with intervention of reduction and synthesis as soon as possible, in accordance with soft tissues and the patient’s conditions) and as psthumous traumas (pseudoarthrosis, bad or non consolidation). He handles polyfractured and polytrauma patients. Dr. Di Mento also treats infections in a traumatic environment, such as septic psedutoarthrosis and surgically the minor tumoral bone localizations, such as osteolysis, impending fractures and pathological fractures. 

Publications: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Di+Mento+L 

Prof. Guido Grappiolo is Orthopedics Hip and Prosthesis Unit Director in Humanitas Research Hospital. Since 1991, Prof. Guido Grappiolo began working as a researcher dedicated mainly to hip surgery in cooperation with internationally renowned authors such as: Prof. Ganz Prof. T. Gruen, Prof. D. Blaha (U.S.A.), Prof. H. Wagner (Germany), Prof. E. Morscher (Switzerland).

He collaborates with major international schools in the research of new and modern strategies in the field of minimally invasive prosthetics, computer-assisted surgery and conservative surgery. To encourage research in orthopedics is the main scientific goal of the establishment and organization of the "Foundation Livio Sciutto – NPO", an organization of which Prof. Grappiolo is the scientific director. Playing this role, Prof. Grappiolo has been creating and maintaining contacts with other national and international research institutes, which trained thousands of surgeons coming from every country of the world.

The organization has one of the largest hip replacement database of the world: more than 45.000. Dr. Grappiolo is mentored by Dr. Spotorno (a master and pioneer in prosthetic surgery), and their group studied and developed some of the bestselling prosthesis in the world. His research led him to contact the major international schools with which he collaborates in the search for new strategies of improvement in prosthetic minimally invasive and computer-assisted conservative surgery with the development of new prosthetic models and exploration of new materials.

To date, he has attended over 170 meetings, both national and international, almost every time in the role of speaker or chairman. His name appears as author, in more than 60 publications and articles. He has performed more than 2600 prosthetic surgery (hip, knee and ankle).

Publications: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=grappiolo

Prof. Giorgio Walter Canonica is the Head of Personalized Medicine Center: Asthma and Allergy in Humanitas Research Hospital.

Medical areas of interest:
Asthma and allergies 

Research areas of interest: 
T cells: study of different subgroups and their functional role in basic and clinical research (allergy, specific autoimmunity of organs, degenerative diseases of the CNS and cancer).

Molecular events and interactions between immunocompetent cells, inflammatory cells, epithelial cells in allergic inflammation and airway remodelling.

Biomarkers that define the therapeutic response in asthma.

New antiallergenic drugs and new strategies in the treatment of allergic disease.

Clinical and immune-pharmacological activities of modifiers of biological responses such as cytokines, monoclonal antibodies, specific immunotherapy for allergens, etc.

Results of reported patients and assessment of quality of life in patients with respiratory and allergic diseases.

Prof. Canonica coordinated and conducted more than 50 tests (phase II-IV) according to current GCP rules (certification number 2426574, 29/06/2017).

He has also served as an arbitrator for most of the most important international journals - Editor-in-Chief of "Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology" – Associated Editor "Annals of Allergy & Clinical Immunology".

Previous experience:
Director of the Degree programme of Lung Diseases at the University of Genoa (1998 - Today) President of the Clinic for Diseases of Allergies and Respiratory - Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa - IRCCS AOU San Martino IST

(1997) Director of the Specialized School of Allergy and Clinical Immunology DIMI, University of Genoa

• (1998-present) Full professor of allergies and respiratory diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa
   
• (1995-1998) Full professor of Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa
   
• (1982) Associate Professor Allergy and Clinical Immunology-Dept. of Internal Medicine
  (1977) Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine - University of Genoa
• (1973) Assistant at the Clinic of Pulmonary Diseases - University of Genoa

Publications:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=giorgio+walter+canonica

Dr. Lucia Torracca is leading the Cardiac Surgery Unit at Humanitas Research Hospital. She received her training at Ospedali Civili di Brescia and at Ospedale San Raffaele with Professor Ottavio Alfieri, were she improved her knowledge in the mitral disease focusing in the reparative and preservative approaches. At the same institution she led the minimal invasive and robotic division before moving to Ospedali Riuniti Di Ancona to be chief of the Cardiac Surgery Complex Unit. Dr. Torracca has performed more than 55 hundred cardiac surgeries. Thanks to her surgical and academic curriculum, she has been an active member of the steering committee of the European Society editing Guidelines for the treatment of heart diseases.

Together with her team in Humanitas, she can approach every cardiac disease affecting adults, especially focusing on the minimal invasive approach to reparative valve disease. State of the art technologies are regularly explored and implemented in the Open Heart dedicated Operating Room and Intensive Care Unit to ensure best outcomes, shorter hospital stay and fewer surgical complications.

The surgical expertise of Dr. Torracca go from open heart circulatory-arrest procedure to off-pump and/or trans-catheter procedures (MitraClip or TransApical Aortic Valve Implants).

Dr. Torracca and her team can claim the highest rate of mitral valve repair in Bi-leaflet prolapse (Barlow Disease) hitting almost 99% of conservative approach in minimal invasiveness at the time of surgery, maintaining >95% success rate at long term follow up: this option is further advantageous in the youngest patient population allowing restrain from anticoagulation therapy and perfectly normal quality of life.

Author or co-author of 151 publications in national and international scientific journals.

Prof. Leonardo Maradei is specialised in orthopaedics and traumatology and is the Director of the Foot Surgery and Minimally Invasive Operations Unit in Humanitas Research Hospital. 

Prof. Leonardo Maradei performs surgery on the foot with minimally invasive techniques and arthroscopic surgery. After his specialization he deepened his studies in arthroscopic surgery of the shoulder and the knee at the Mississippi Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center (USA), under the guidance of prof. F. H. Savoie. He has developed considerable experience in shoulder prosthetic surgery as a pupil of prof. Mario Randelli. 
His research is focused on the development of new prosthetic materials for the shoulder. During his years in Humanitas he has performed more than 2000 surgeries on the foot, more than 1000 on the knee and more than a 1000 on the shoulder. 

Dr. Maradei is a professor at Università Statale of Milan where he teaches Medicine and Surgery - Lessons on minimally invasive surgery of the shoulder and knee.

Publications: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=maradei+leonardo