Riccardo Calafiore

Professor Riccardo Calafiore has fulfilled his scientific, academic, teaching and clinical career in both Italy and U.S.A. He began his scientific and clinical activities in the academic year 1975-76 as a medical student at the Institute of Medical Pathology, then turned into Internal Medicine and Endocrine and Metabolic Sciences University of Perugia Hospital, Perugia IT of which he became Director in the years 2020-22 when he retired for age limits, according to the Italian law. He spent five years in the following U.S. academic Institutions as a researcher and teacher: Mayo Medical School and Mayo Clinic, Endocrine Research Unit, Rochester MN (1983); University of Miami School of Medicine, Diabetes Research Center, Miami FL (1985-87); University of California at Irvine (UCI), Department of medicine, Irvine CA (1992-94). Form 2011 to date, Calafiore has been appointed Collaborative Professor of Internal Medicine, University of South Florida (USF), Department of Internal Medicine, Tampa, FL.

Calafiore’s academic scientific and clinical activities have been devoted to Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, in both clinical wards and outpatient clinical Units. In 1987 he generated the Laboratory for Endocrine Cell Transplants and Biohybrid Organs, at the University of Perugia Hospital, Section of Internal Medicine and Endocrine and Metabolic Sciences with the aim to develop and validate methods to transplant pancreatic islets separated and purified from human donor organs, into patients with type 1 diabetes. In the following years he developed and internationally patented a method for microencapsulation of the isolated pancreatic islets within highly purified and biocompatible alginic acid derivatives, natural polysaccharides extracted from brown seaweeds. The microcapsules, by physically enveloping individual islets, would prevent immune destruction of the cells upon transplant, with no need to treat the recipients with toxic general immunosuppressive agents. Calafiore and his coworkers performed the first clinical transplants of microencapsulated islets in the world in 2004-09. Because of the restricted availability of cadaveric human donor pancreases, Calafiore has shifted his research activities toward human stem cells of several types, in an attempt to convert them (advanced studies ongoing at this time) into virtually unlimited insulin producing cells. From 2022 Calafiore was appointed President of the Diabetes Research Foundation, Perugia, and in this role, he closed a formal agreement with the University of Perugia active for 5 years, renewable, to continue research in this critical field in person. Calafiore authored 300 international scientific publications.

Prof. Calafiore continues to be active as a teacher of Internal Medicine at the USF, Tampa USA and shortly at the UniCamillus Medical University, Rome IT. He belongs to the Editorial Board of several international scientific Journals, and is a member of the following scientific Associations: Italian Society of Diabetology, Italian Society of Endocrinology, International Pancreas and Islet Transplantation Association, American Diabetes Association. He actively continues on his clinical private practice in private Centers.