Ariela Benigni Biol.Sci.D., Ph.D. Curriculum Vitae
Personal Data Name: Date and place of birth: Citizenship: E-mail: Ariela Benigni December 16, 1955 - Bergamo, Italy Italian ariela.benigni@marionegri.it Educational Background December 12 th 2001 February 16 th 1979 Ph.D. Degree, University of Maastricht, AZM, The Netherlands Biol. Sci. D. Degree, University of Milan, Milan, Italy Research Experience and chronology of appointments 2000 - present Head, Department of Molecular Medicine, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Bergamo 1991 - present Scientific Secretary, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Bergamo 1994-1999 Head Laboratory of Vasoactive and Inflammatory Mediators of Tissue damage, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Bergamo 1990 1994 Head, Laboratory of Prostaglandin and Leukotriene Metabolism, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Bergamo 1986-1990 Head, Unit of Prostaglandin and Leukotriene Metabolism, Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Bergamo 1983 Scientist, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Laboratory of Kidney Disease, Bergamo, Italy 1982 Post Doctoral Fellow, Centre Regional de Transfusion Sanguigne de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France. 1980-1981 Post Doctoral Fellow, Associazione Bergamasca per lo Studio delle Malattie Renali, Laboratory of the Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Ospedali Riuniti di Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy. 1979 Post Doctoral Fellow, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Laboratory of Cancer Chemotherapy, Milan, Italy. Other Appointments 2015 Planning Committee Member, American Society of Nephrology (ASN) 2016 Meeting 2013 - Member of Visiting Committee for French Evaluation Agency for Research and Higher Education (AERES) - evaluation of scientists of the Hôpital - 2 -
Necker, Paris. 2012 Merit Award Città di Bergamo, from Bergamo City Hall 2007-2008 Senior Fellow in Obstetric Medicine of Nuffield Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of Oxford, UK 2007-2012 Consultant World Health Organization (WHO) for the multicentre observational study entitled: Screening for Pre-eclampsia: evaluation of the predictive ability of angiogenic factors for Pre-eclampsia. Since 2007 Member of the Executive Board of the Department of Transplant Immunology, Azienda Ospedaliera Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy 2006 2007 Chairman, 10 th International Conference on Endothelin (ET-10), September 16-19, Bergamo, Italy 2006 Chairman, Viral Gene Transfer Course, PF6 European Renal Genome Project (EuReGene), Europe 2005-2009 Chairman of the Ethical Panel, PF6 European Renal Genome Project (EuReGene), Europe Membership in Scientific Societies, Committees, Charities - Member of International Society of Nephrology (ISN) - Board and Scientific Commission of Fondazione Aiuti per la Ricerca sulle Malattie Rare (ARMR) - Scientific Commission of Fondazione Associazione Ricerca Trapianto (ART) - Member of the European Kidney Health Alliance (EKHA) Didactic experience in the field of supervising scientists - Research training: 22 fellows - Research training visiting scientists: 8 fellows - Research training for Ph.D. students: 4 - Promotor of Ph.D. students: 2 - Examiner of Ph.D. thesis: 1 Major Current Research Interests - Role of proteinuria in progressive kidney disease - Role of podocyte proteins in the pathogenesis of proteinuria in acquired and genetic renal diseases - Cellular and humoral mediators of glomerular and interstitial damage - In vitro and in vivo gene delivery to the kidney - Induction of kidney transplant tolerance by gene therapy - Gene therapy for rare diseases - Search for renoprotective therapies to halt and even reverse progressive renal injury - Renal regeneration by induction of resident renal progenitor cells - Role of sirtuin 3 in renal disease associated with aging - 3 -
Selected Scientific Results Contribution to the understanding of the pathogenesis of the bleeding tendency in patients with chronic renal failure: - Description of abnormalities of platelet and endothelial cell arachidonic acid metabolism. - Demonstration that parathyroid hormone can affect platelet function. - Evaluation of the effect of aspirin on the bleeding tendency. Contribution to the understanding of the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia and assessment of prostaglandin metabolism in normal and complicated pregnancy. Contribution to the understanding the role of thromboxane A2 as a possible cause of renal damage in different experimental models of glomerulonephritis. - Evaluation of the effects of dietary and pharmacological manipulation on the progression of glomerular damage. Contribution to clarify the role of protein trafficking as a major determinant of renal disease progression including the identification of genes upregulated in vivo and in vitro as a consequence of tubular protein overloading Contribution to the understanding of the role of endothelin and TGF- as a possible mediator of renal disease progression by biochemical molecular biology and pharmacological approaches. Evaluation of the optimal vectors for gene transfer to the kidney. Prevention of acute and chronic renal allograft rejection trough ex vivo transfection of the donor organ with adeno, adenoassociated viral vectors encoding immunomodulatory proteins without immunosuppressors. Evaluation of new therapeutic approaches including multidrug therapy to halt or even induce regression of chronic renal lesions Identification of renal progenitor cells in the rat kidney and their implication in pathology Role of angiotensin type 1 (AT 1 ) receptor in the aging process and protection of aging phenotype by AT1 receptor knockout via stimulation of Sirtuin3 Membership in Editorial Boards 2015 - Nephron, Editor in Chief 2015 - Kidney Diseases 2013-2014 - Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents, Editor 2013-2014 - PeerJ, Academic Editor 2013-2014 - PlosOne, Academic Editor 2010-2011 - International Journal of Artificial Organs, Associate Editor 2005-2006 - Archives of Medical Science, Associate Editor 2003-2005 - Kidney International, Associate Editor 1999-2003 - Journal of Nephrology, Subject Editor 1997-1998 - Journal of Nephrology, Assistant Editor - 4 -
Ad hoc Reviewer 1990 - present - American Journal of Kidney Diseases - American Journal of Pathology - BMC Cancer - British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology - British Journal of Pharmacology - Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology - Circulation - Cytotherapy - Disease Models & Mechanisms - EMBO Molecular Medicine - Experimental Biology and Medicine - Faseb Journal - Gene Therapy - Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology - Journal of Nephrology - Journal of the American Society of Nephrology - Journal of Pathology - Kidney International - Kidney and Blood Pressure Research - Laboratory Investigation - Life Sciences - Mediators of Inflammation - Molecular Therapy - Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation - Nephron - Obstetrics and Gynecology - Pediatric Nephrology - Plos One - PPAR Research - Stem Cells International - The American Journal of Pathology - C-JASN Dr. Benigni is author of about 250 peer-reviewed articles and she was invited to lecture at more than 120 national and international meetings. Last update: March 2015-5 -