Biography

At the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, Italy, I serve as the Director of the Diabetes Research Institute and Chief of the Department of Regenerative Medicine and Transplantation. Additionally, I lead the Beta Cell Biology Unit and direct the Human Islet Processing Facility. I previously coordinated the European Consortium for Islet Transplantation, which has been instrumental in providing human beta cell products for both research and clinical applications at HSR, within Italy, and across Europe since 2000. I hold the position of Professor in Endocrinology at the University “Vita Salute San Raffaele” in Milan and served as a Visiting Professor at Vrije Universiteit of Brussel from 2016 to 2022.

My academic expertise spans diabetes and pancreatology, with specific interests in the interplay between pathophysiology, innovative therapeutics, and precision medicine. My research focuses on advancing the understanding and treatment of diabetes, specifically through beta cell replacement therapies, immune tolerance induction strategies, stem cell research, and dendritic cell biology. I am particularly interested in beta cell differentiation and maturation processes, the development of biomaterials and scaffolds to support islet transplantation, and strategies to protect beta cells from immune-mediated damage in autoimmune diabetes. Additionally, my work addresses immune tolerance in the context of transplantation, exploring mechanisms to prevent graft rejection while minimizing systemic immunosuppression. My laboratory has also explored the role of innate immune responses and how they influence adaptive immunity in diabetes and transplantation, with a particular focus on dendritic cells and their tolerogenic potential. In the broader realm of regenerative medicine, my research investigates the differentiation and reprogramming of stem cells, aiming to generate functional insulin-producing cells for therapeutic purposes. I have also been involved in efforts to develop bioengineered pancreas and organoids as platforms for studying diabetes pathogenesis and testing potential therapies. Beyond diabetes, I have conducted significant work in pancreatic oncology, particularly the interactions between cancer cells, stromal cells, and the tumor microenvironment. My interests include leveraging regenerative medicine tools and immune-modulating therapies to explore novel strategies for treating pancreatic cancer. As a physician-scientist, I am deeply dedicated to translational research, aiming to bridge the gap between cutting-edge scientific discoveries and their practical application in clinical settings. This includes designing clinical trials for cell replacement therapies and immune interventions and integrating high-dimensional data to tailor precision medicine approaches for diabetes and related disorders.

I currently serve as a Section Editor for Cell Transplantation – The Regenerative Medicine Journal and as an Associate Editor for Transplant International and the Journal of Endocrinological Investigation. Previously, I served on the editorial board of Acta Diabetologia. In leadership roles, I am the President of the International Pancreas and Islet Transplantation Association (IPITA) for 2025–2027 under The Transplantation Society (TTS). I am also a member of the steering committee for the European Pancreas and Islet Transplant Registry (EPITR, 2020–2025). I have previously served as member of the National Board and Scientific Coordinator of the Italian Society of Diabetes (SID, 2020–2024), in the committee of the European Pancreas and Islet Transplantation Association (EPITA) within the European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT, 2011–2017), as a member of the National Committee for Food Safety (2018–2021, Italian Ministry of Health), and as Councilor (2015–2019) and Treasurer (2019–2023) of IPITA.

Publication activity (January 2025)
Lorenzo Piemonti authored a total of 336 original articles published in peer-reviewed journals surveyed in PubMed. H-index (20/01/2025): 68 Web of Science; 72 Scopus; 83 Google Scholar. Considering the period 2020-present Lorenzo Piemonti authored a total of 115 original articles published in peer-reviewed journals for an impact factor of 905.128 (mean impact factor: 7.871, scopus citation index 4,549)