WSVRD-2024

Prof. Alessandro Antonelli is currently Director of the Immuno-Endocrine Section of Internal Medicine, Head Laboratory of Primary Human Cells and Full Professor of Internal Medicine,University of Pisa, Italy. He is qualified in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Oncology. He has been chairman and invited speaker in International congresses and has given lectures in European and American Universities. He studied the therapeutic and immunomodulatory effect of intravenous immunoglobulin administration in patients with thyroid associated ophthalmopathy, and other autoimmune diseases. He showed an association between chronic hepatitis C infection, or mixed cryoglobulinemia, with thyroid autoimmunity, thyroid papillary cancer and diabetes, and studied the immunopathogenesis of this association. Furthermore, he studied the association of thyroid autoimmune disorders with different organ specific autoimmune disorders or systemic autoimmune diseases. He demonstrated the importance of interferon gamma inducible chemokines, and of Th2 chemokine in the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroiditis, Graves' disease and ophthalmopathy, type 1 diabetes, systemic sclerosis. He studied the effects of cytokines, and the production of chemokines in primary human cells from Graves’ disease and ophthalmopathy, cryoglobulinemia, and systemic sclerosis. He is the Principal Investigator in the research project regarding the effects of COVID-19 infection in patients with systemic rheumatic diseases, and regarding the effects of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and the worsening or new onset of autoimmune-based pathologies. His researches have been published in more than 460 articles on International journals with IF (IF>2000; H index 84)