Alessia Fornoni University of MiamiUnited States

Dr. Fornoni is a tenured Professor of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She is the Chief of the Katz Family Division of Nephrology and Hypertension and serves as and Director and Chair of the Peggy and Harold Katz Drug Discovery Center. Dr. Fornoni gained experience in drug development at Hoffman-La Roche in Basel, and she is the funding scientist of several start-up companies. Her research is supported by grants from the NIH industry and private foundations. She has received prestigious awards: among them, she became a member of ASCI and AAP. Through her pioneering work on insulin signaling, cholesterol metabolism, and sphingolipid-related pathways, Dr. Fornoni uncovered novel pathogenetic mechanisms and therapeutic approaches for glomerular disorders. Her internationally recognized research findings, which are now being translated into humans with novel therapeutic applications, have challenged existing paradigms and have dramatically altered the research direction in these areas.