Assoc. Prof. Dr. Paola Pontrelli | Biology and Life Sciences | Best Researcher Award

Biology and Life Sciences | University of Bari Aldo Moro | Italy

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Paola Pontrelli is a female scientist specializing in experimental biology with emphasis on renal pathophysiology, transplantation immunology, and molecular mechanisms in kidney disease. She holds a PhD in clinical pathology / experimental biology from the University of Bari Aldo Moro and/or affiliated institutions (PhD granted after high-quality doctoral work in molecular and immunologic mechanisms underlying renal injury, graft rejection, and kidney transplantation). Over her academic and professional career she has held roles such as Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences / Experimental Biology, has been involved in major research units at the University of Bari and related transplant and nephrology centers, and has collaborated extensively at national and international levels, participating in multidisciplinary projects on dialysis, graft rejection, bio-molecular profiling, immune signalling, complement activation and chronic kidney disease. Her work draws on strong research interests including diabetic nephropathy, antibody-mediated rejection of kidney transplants, inflammation and immune modulation in dialysis and transplant settings, interferon signatures, metabolic dysregulation in immune cells, and molecular biomarker discovery. She has developed research skills in transcriptomics / gene expression profiling, proteomics / phosphoproteome analyses, flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, Western blot, microarray, quantitative PCR, bioinformatic pathway analysis, handling patient samples (dialysis, transplant) and in vitro/in vivo experimental models. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Paola Pontrelli has authored 97 documents, 2,676 Citations, 30 h-index, reflecting a robust scholarly output and impact.

She has been recognized with awards and honours typical for academic excellence (competitive grants, invited lectures, member of relevant scientific societies, peer reviewing, committees) though specific named awards are less available in public sources; she is frequently invited to contribute to panels, workshops and collaborative networks. Her professional experience includes teaching, supervising students, leading projects, coordinating with clinical units for translational research, and involvement in peer-reviewed publication process as author and reviewer. In conclusion, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Paola Pontrelli’s career combines strong education, broad and deep professional experience, research interests spanning immunology, nephrology, transplantation, inflammation, and metabolic dysregulation; excellent methodological and technical research skills; a solid record of publications, citations and collaborative work; and recognition within her discipline, all of which indicate she is well placed to continue making high impact contributions in kidney disease and transplantation research on an international stage.

Profile:  Scopus | ORCID

Featured Publications

1. “Dialysis-related systemic microinflammation is associated with specific genomic patterns”, 2008 — ~31 citations

2. “Local synthesis of interferon-alpha in lupus nephritis is associated with type I interferons signature and LMP7 induction in renal tubular epithelial cells”, 2015 — ~64 citations

3. “GENE EXPRESSION PROFILES IN CD8+ T CELLS IN CHRONIC ANTIBODY-MEDIATED REJECTION (CAMR) OF KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION”, 2018 — citation

4. “Plasma-derived extracellular vesicles from kidney transplant patients with antibody-mediated rejection induced endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition and senescence in tubular epithelial cells by modulating complement activation”, 2022 — citation

5. “A type I interferon signature characterizes chronic antibody-mediated rejection in kidney transplantation”, 2015 — citation