Prof. Roberto Bolli, M.D., D.Sc. (Hon)
Director of the Institute of Molecular Cardiology, University of Louisville Louisville, KY, USA
Bio
Professor of Medicine and Physiology
Distinguished University Scholar
Legacy Foundation of Kentuckiana Distinguished Chair in Cardiology
Editor-in-Chief, Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
Past President, International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences
Principal Investigator, DoD CATO Trial PR22116
Former Editor-in-Chief, Circulation Research
Former President, International Society for Heart Research
Former President, Council on Basic Sciences of the American Heart Association, etc.
H index is 130, publications >500, and total citations >61,000. Over the past 45 years, Dr. Bolli’s research has focused on the mechanisms responsible for myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury and on the development of cardioprotective strategies. His earlier work established a fundamental role of reactive oxygen species in the pathogenesis of myocardial “stunning”. Subsequently, he identified the signal transduction pathways and the cardioprotective genes responsible for the late phase of myocardial “preconditioning. He discovered that the cardioprotection afforded by preconditioning is mediated by two proteins (inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2. Over the past two decades, he has investigated the use of cell therapy to repair injured myocardium. Professor Bolli was the first to show that, contrary to commonly accepted ideas, transplanted stem/progenitor cells do not engraft in the heart and, work via paracrine actions. This concept has changed our understanding of cell therapy.