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Spine Surgeon

Dr. Roberto Bassani has performed over 2,500 major spinal surgical operations in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.

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

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. 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. Corrado Lodigiani has been assistant at the Thrombosis Centre of Humanitas research Hospital from 1998 to 2013 and he became Unit Director in 2013. 

Humanitas Thrombosis Center is a state-of-the-art service for the proper management of the diagnosis and therapy of venous thromboembolic pathology (deep and superficial venous thrombosis, pulmonary thromboembolism, visceral venous thrombosis) and arterial (myocardial infarction, cerebral stroke, peripheral arterial disease). 
Other also rare diseases treated are atypical thrombosis, such as the vascular circulation of the retina, the hearing system and the placental circulation during pregnancy. 

Dr. Lodigiani adopts the multidisciplinary approach and works in collaboration with all medical and surgical specialties. In particular, he carries out clinical and instrumental diagnostics (vascular ecocolordoppler) and research on the causes, diagnosis and therapy of thrombotic and bleeding disorders, congenital and acquired. His clinical activity also involves the diagnosis and management of patients suffering from bleeding diseases, such as haemophilia, von Willebrand’s disease and platelet diseases.

Medical areas of interest:  

In recent years, he has devoted himself with particular interest to the testing, in the role of Principal Investigator in International Clinical Studies, of new antithrombotic drugs and, above all, anticoagulants, which are about to be marketed and will constitute a valid and safe alternative to traditional oral anticoagulant therapy (DOACs). He is also working, with great interest, on researching the causes of idiopathic infertility and the usefulness and effectiveness of some therapeutic strategies, such as the use of anticoagulant drugs, improving the results of artificial insemination procedures. He is the author of numerous articles in international scientific journals and speaker at numerous national and international conferences.

Prof. Andrea Lania has graduated at the Università degli Studi of Milan and is specialized in endocrinology. He is the Unit Director of Endocrinology and Diabetology in Humanitas Research Hospital and his specialization is pituitary diseases, pituitary adenomas, thyroid cancer, pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas.

Medical areas of interest:
Pituitary tumors, hypopituitarism, acromegaly, Cushing’s disease and syndrome, neuroendocrine tumors, thyroid and thyroid diseases, adrenal and adrenal diseases, hypogonadism.

Research areas of interest:
Study of the pathogenetic mechanisms of pituitary and neuroendocrine tumors, of the molecular mechanisms responsible for the different response of pituitary and neuroendocrine tumors to medical therapy.

Prof. Lania published 198 peer-reviewed papers (Google Scholar H-Index 47; Scopus H-Index 38, cit tot 4604)

Prof. Lania has a long standing expertise in the field of intra-cellular signaling in endocrine tumors. In particular, in the past ten years, he contributed to analyze the role of PKA regulatory subunits in the pathogenesis and control of cell proliferation of endocrine tumors. Moreover, he contributed to define the role of SSTR5 domains involved in the intracellular trafficking of this receptor in human pituitary cells and to analyze the impact of DR2R and SSTR2&5 polymorphic variants on both the clinical outcome and response to medical treatment in patients with pituitary tumors.

Recently, he contributed to identify the role of cytoskeleton protein FLNA in mediating both intracellular signaling and membrane targeting of somatostatin type 2 receptor and D2R in pituitary and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Finally, he contributed to explore the intracellular mechanisms possibly involved in mediating the interplay between drugs commonly used in the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors.

Previous experience:
2005-2008 Fondazione Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico IRCCS, Milan, Italy
Director of Endocrinologic Day Hospital and surgery on pituitary disorders. 

Publications: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=lania%20A 

Prof. Alessandro Repici is the Director of the Gastroenterology and Digestive endoscopy Unit in Humanitas Research Hospital. Graduated in Medicine and Surgery in 1990 and the following year he won a scholarship at the Department of Gastroenterology Molinette hospital in Turin, where he began his practice in digestive endoscopy. In 1992, he worked with Prof. Claude Liguory as a fellow at the American Hospital in Paris.

In 1994 he became a specialist in Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy at the University of Messina and worked in the Department of Gastroenterology, Ospedale Maggiore Molinette of Turin.

In the following years, he has been working at the Service of Digestive Endoscopy of Altona Hospital in Hamburg, directed by prof. Hagenmuller, and in the Department of Gastroenterology Molinette Hospital in Turin, directed by prof. Rizzetto. In 1999, he was a Research Fellow at the Center for Oncological and Operative Endoscopy of Wellsley Hospital in Toronto.

He teaches Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy at the School of Specialization in Oncology since 2000, at the University of Turin since 2004 and Endoscopy Diagnostic Techniques and Operations at the School of Specialization in General Surgery I and II of the University of Turin.

The clinical activity and research of Prof. Repici mainly focuses on the development of new endoscopic techniques in the field of diagnosis and therapy, with particular attention to new methods of endoscopic removal of cancerous lesions and early in the palliation of advanced gastrointestinal malignancies.

Prof. Repici is coordinator, principal investigator and co-investigator in more than 50 studies, including phase II and III for FDA and EMA approval of new molecules and new instruments for diagnostic and operational endoscopy. 

Prof. Repici collaborates on research projects in the field of endoscopy with the University of Rotterdam, in Haifa, in New York and with several Italian centers. He is a member of various national and international scientific society of Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy.

Publications: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=repici+alessandro

Dr. Paolo Casale is the Urology Unit Director in Humanitas Research Hospital. 

Medical areas of interest: 
his main focus is surgical treatment of oncological and functional diseases of the kidney, bladder and prostate.

He has developed a particular interest in conservative oncological surgery of the kidneys, both traditional and minimally invasive (laparoscopic and robotic), and has dedicated himself to the study of prostate and bladder oncological pathologies, with particular attention to the different urinary derivations, such as orthotopic neobladders.

Research areas of interest:
Surgical techniques in the treatment of kidney, bladder and prostate cancer.

Previous experience:

• 1999 – 2014 University Hospital of Pisa – Pisa (PI), Italy
  Medical Director at the Urology Unit 2 (Reference Center for Kidney tumors) headed by Dr. Francesco Francesca. Here he served as the organization and surgical training manager in the operating room of Residents in Urology and Students of Degree in Medicine and Surgery.
• He has also held the following positions: 
•  
• May 2012 – May 2013: Head of the Section of Professional interdisciplinary relevance of Robot-assisted Laparoscopic Surgery 
•  
• Nov 2008 – April 2012: Head of the Robot assisted Laparoscopic Surgery
•  
• 1994 – 2004: Research Fellow in Laparoscopic Surgery and Robotics at the Glickman Urological Institute at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation on advanced laparoscopic procedures, Robotic Surgery and Minimally Invasive Surgery – Cleveland – USA. (Chief: IS Gill).
•  
• December 1995 – May 1996: Research Fellow at the Department of Urology, Henry Ford Hospital – Detroit – Michigan – USA. (Chief: JO Peabody).
•  
• 1994: Clinical Internship at the Department of Urology, Montefiore Medical Center – Albert Einstein ​​University – New York – USA. (Chief: A. Mellman).

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

Prof. Salvatore Badalamenti is the Nephrology and Dialysis Unit Director in Humanitas Research Hospital. He has graduated at the Università degli Studi of Milan and is specialised in Medical Nephrology, Liver Diseases and Replacement.

Medical areas of interest:

• clinical nephrology and dialysis, chronic renal failure and its complications (anemia, osteodystrophy)
• preparation of vascular access for hemodialysis
• acid-base balance disorders. continuous renal replacement therapy in intensive care (CRRT)
• hepatorenal syndrome
• emergency medicine

Previous experience:

1990-1995 Polyclinic Hospital, Milan, Italy
He was a Staff grade specialist. Focused on infectious complications in dialysis treatments, particularly hepatitis C and anaemia, and nephrological and dialysis emergencies.

1986-1990 Provincial Hospital Clinic , Barcelona, Spain
He completed his PhD in Renal and Hepatic pathophysiology. Especially focused on the study of renal complications in patients with liver disease.

Research areas of interest: 

• clinical nephrology
• anemia and erythropoietin in renal failure and dialysis
• continuous renal replacement therapy in intensive care (crrt)
• hepatorenal syndrome. 
• phgosis and pentraxine in renal failure

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Italian Society of Nephrology (SIN)

Teaching experience:

He is Professor of Internal Medicine and Emergency medicine and Professor of Nephrology at Università degli Studi of Milan.

Dott. Antonio Frontera is the Electrophysiology Unit Director in Humanitas Research Hospital.  

Medical areas of interest: 

After graduating in Medicine and Surgery at the University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome in 2006, he specialized in Cardiology at the same university in 2012.

Soon after his specialization he moved to England where he was hired as a Clinical and Research Fellow in cardiac electrophysiology at the Bristol Heart Institute (NHS), Bristol. 
He won a scholarship from the European Society of Aritmology (EHRA) and completed his training in cardiac electrophysiology at the prestigious Haut Léveque Hospital in Bordeaux, France, directed by Prof. Michel Haïssaguerre. In the same French university, he obtained his PhD.

During these 5 years of training abroad, he performed about 800 trans catheter ablation surgeries focusing mainly on the treatment of supraventricular arrhythmias. As a researcher, he has published nearly 100 scientific papers on innovation and trans catheter ablation techniques, defibrillator and pacemaker functioning algorithms.

Back to Italy, he was employed at the Aritmology Unit of the San Raffale Hospital specializing in the treatment of ventricular tachycardia, performing more than 150 procedures as a first and second operator.

To date, Dr. Frontera is the author of more than 145 scientific papers published in international journals. He constantly participates in national and international congresses of the sector.

Research areas of interest:
He has particular interest in the analysis of endocavitary signals (EGMs) in ventricular tachycardia and atrial fibrillation.

Thanks to a close collaboration with the Mathematics department of Politecnico di Milano, directed by Prof. Quarteroni, he studied innovative techniques for the treatment of complex arrhythmias.

Previous experience:
 

• Clinical and Research Fellow in Cardiac Electrophysiology - Bristol Heart Institute, Bristol, UK
• Clinical and Research Fellow in Cardiac Electrophysiology - Hôpital Haut Léveque, Bordeaux, FR

Publications: 

Sinus node exit, crista terminalis conduction, interatrial connection and wavefront collision: key features of human atrial activation in sinus rhythm.
Pambrun T, Derval N, Duchateau J, Ramirez FD, Chauvel R, Tixier R, Marchand H, Bouyer B, Welte N, André C, Nakashima T, Nakatani Y, Kamakura T, Takagi T, Krisai P, Ascione C, Balbo C, Cheniti G, Vlachos K, Bourier F, Takigawa M, Kitamura T, Frontera A, Meo M, Denis A, Sacher F, Hocini M, Jaïs P, Haïssaguerre M.Heart Rhythm. 2022 Jan 13

Electrogram fractionation during sinus rhythm occurs in normal voltage atrial tissue in patients with atrial fibrillation.
Frontera A, Limite LR, Pagani S, Cireddu M, Vlachos K, Martin C, Takigawa M, Kitamura T, Bourier F, Cheniti G, Pambrun T, Sacher F, Derval N, Hocini M, Quarteroni A, Della Bella P, Haissaguerre M, Jaïs P.Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 2021

Slow Conduction Corridors and Pivot Sites Characterize the Electrical Remodeling in Atrial Fibrillation - ScienceDirect
Antonio Frontera MD, Ph.D1, Stefano Pagani Ph.D2, Luca Rosario Limite MD1, Andrea Peirone MD1, Francesco Fioravanti MD1, Bogdan Enache MD6, Jose Cuellar, MD4, Konstantinos Vlachos, MD5, Christian Meyer, MD, MA7, Giovanni Montesano, MD8, Andrea Manzoni, Ph.D2, Luca Dedè2 Ph.D2, Alfio Quarteroni, Ph.D2,3, Decebal Gabriel Lațcu, MD6, Pietro Rossi MD, Ph.D9, Paolo Della Bella MD1.
JACC EP Jan 2022

Right ventricular outflow tract electroanatomical abnormalities in asymptomatic and high-risk symptomatic patients with Brugada syndrome: Evidence for a new risk stratification tool?
Letsas KP, Vlachos K, Conte G, Efremidis M, Nakashima T, Duchateau J, Bazoukis G, Frontera A, Mililis P, Tse G, Cheniti G, Takigawa M, Pambrun T, Prappa E, Sacher F, Derval N, Sideris A, Auricchio A, Jais P, Haissaguerre M, Hocini M.J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2021

Effect of electrode size and spacing on electrograms: Optimized electrode configuration for near-field electrogram characterization.
Takigawa M, Kitamura T, Basu S, Bartal M, Martin CA, Martin R, Cheniti G, Vlachos K, Pillois X, Frontera A, Massoullié G, Thompson N, Bourier F, Lam A, Duchateau J, Pambrun T, Denis A, Derval N, Cochet H, Haïssaguerre M, Sacher F, Hocini M, Jaïs P.Heart Rhythm. 2022 Jan;

Prof. Bruno Bernardini is the Neurological Rehabilitation Unit Director in Humanitas Research Hospital. 

Medical areas of interest:

Rehabilitation in acute-subacute phase of disabled patients for neurological diseases (stroke, cranial-encephalic and medullary trauma, tumors of the nervous system, neuropathies). Hospital risk of fragile elderly patients. Orthogeriatrics.

Research areas of interest:
Post-operative rehabilitation indicators and process-outcome measures for patient prognostic stratification and clinical performance evaluation. 

He is the coordinator of a multicentre study for the application of process-outcome indicators in rehabilitation. The study involves hospital and extra-hospital facilities in Lombardy, Liguria and other regions of Central and Northern Italy.

Previous experience:

2005-2007 Galliera Hospital Authority, Genoa, Italy

Director of the Functional Recovery structure.

Member of the work group for defining the Regional Plan of rehabilitation work 2006-2009 in the Liguria region.

Evaluation, treatment and facilitation of care processes in patients in Neurology, Intensive Care, Neuro-surgery, Intermediate Care, Orthopaedic and Home Care. 

Outpatient work as a physiatric specialist, with a specific sector on the rehabilitation of the pelvic floor.

Development of processes in diagnostic and therapeutic hospital care (especially lumbar-sciatica, joint replacements, cardiac failure, femur fractures and most fast-track urological operations).

1988-1995 Hospital of Niguarda, Milan, Italy
Visiting doctor at the Centre for High Specialisation in Allergology and Clinical Immunology with full-time specialisation in the Department of Pneumology Piazza.

Teaching experience: Medicine Professor at the University of Genoa.

Scientific activities: Member of the board of directors and Geriatric area contact person at “Italian Urodynamic Society Continence, Neuro-Urology, Pelvic Floor”

Prof. Arturo Chiti graduated in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Milan in 1989, and in the same year he entered the Post graduated School in Nuclear Medicine at the University of Milan, where he got his degree in 1993. In the same year he started working as Associate Chief at the National Cancer Institute in Milan, where he began his clinic and scientific experience in Oncology.
In 1997, he got the European Board of Nuclear Medicine fellowship.

In June 2000 he started leading the Nuclear Medicine Department at Humanitas Research Hospital.

On March 1, 2015 he was appointed Full Professor in Diagnostic Imaging and Radiotherapy at the Humanitas University in Milan, where he is also elected member of the Board.

Prof. Chiti is the Unit Director of the Nuclear Medicine Unit in Humanitas Research Hospital. He is the Director of the Post Graduate School in Diagnostic Imaging at Humanitas University. He is member of the Technical and Scientific Committee of the National Centre for Oncologic Adrotherapy (CNAO).

Arturo Chiti is co-author of several papers (www.scopus.com, www.pubmed.com) with an H-index of 30 (July 2016), wrote some books’ chapters and contributed to many abstracts presented at international and national meetings.
He is Honorary Editor of the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging and reviewer for several international journals and grant applications.

He is a well-known invited speaker at numerous international congresses and conferences.

Prof. Arturo Chiti is the President of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), where he has been active for more than 10 years.

He is also acting as an expert consultant for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and is member of the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU).

He was awarded the honorary membership of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO); the Tom Miller Memorial Lecture Award from the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging and the Hevesy Gyorgy award from the Hungarian Society of Nuclear Medicine.

Publications:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=chiti+arturo

Prof. Antonio Costanzo is the Dermatology Unit Director in Humanitas Research Hospital. He graduated with his MD degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Rome, La Sapienza in 1994. He then went on to complete post-graduate study and received a speciality degree in Internal Medicine in 1999 and a Dermatology speciality degree in 2006.

Medical areas of interest:

• Inflammatory and autoimmune skin diseases (Psoriasis, Atopic Dermatitis, Alopecia Areata, Chronic Urticaria, Suppurative Hydroadenitis, Scleroderma, Lupus)
• Personalized Medicine, Biological Psoriasis Therapy
• Dermatological Oncology (Melanoma, Actinic Keratosis, Basocellular and Spinocellular Epitheliomas).
• Prevention of skin neoplasms (dermatoscopy, computer mapping of moles).
• Dermatological surgery

Previous experience:

• Director of Dermatology Unit at Sant’Andrea Hospital in Vercelli
• University Researcher/Hospital Assistant at Tor Vergata Hospital 

Research areas of interest: 

• Psoriasis pathogenesis of other inflammatory and autoimmune skin diseases
• Pathogenesis of skin neoplasms
• Genetic disorders of the skin

His clinical research is focused on the characterization of the activity of biologics in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. This research is strictly linked to basic research activity on the pathogenesis of psoriasis and on the use of pharmacogenetic approach to predict the efficacy and safety of biologics in psoriasis.

In the past, Professor Costanzo has collaborated to the characterization of basic mechanisms of TNF inflammatory signalling in epithelial cells and NFkappaB regulation by different stimuli. More recently his research group has collaborated to the discovery of IL-21 as critical mediator of keratinocyte proliferation in psoriasis. Professor Costanzo has authored or co-authored more than 120 publications in internationally peer-reviewed journals.

Teaching experience: Full Professor of Dermatology at Humanitas University

Publications: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Costanzo+A