Camillo Ricordi (born 1957) is a

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

researcher based in

Miami, FL Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at the ...

. He currently serves as Director of the Diabetes Research Institute, a position he has held since 1996. He is the Chief Academic Officer of the Diabetes Research Institute of the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

and is director of the DRI's Cell Transplant Center. He has been active in stem cell research and its applications to treating diabetes, particularly

Type 1 Diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar for ...

. He specializes in pancreatic

islet transplantation Islet transplantation is the Organ transplant, transplantation of isolated Pancreatic islets, islets from a donor pancreas into another person. It is an experimental treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus. Once transplanted, the islets begin to pro ...

Career

Ricordi studied from 1971 to 1976 at the Scientific Lyceum in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and graduated

Cum Laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

in Medicine from the

University of Milan The University of Milan ( it, Università degli Studi di Milano; la, Universitas Studiorum Mediolanensis), known colloquially as UniMi or Statale, is a public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe ...

in 1982. During his medical studies at the University of Milan he did

internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

s at the Institute of Central Nervous System Physiology of the

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

(Milan, Italy) and later, as a student of internal medicine in the Internal Medicine Department of the San Raffaele Institute in Milan. After graduating in medicine, he specialized in

Gastrointestinal Surgery Digestive system surgery, or gastrointestinal surgery, can be divided into upper GI surgery and lower GI surgery. Subtypes Upper gastrointestinal Upper gastrointestinal surgery, often referred to as upper GI surgery, refers to a practise of surg ...

and Digestive Endoscopy at the University of Milan, graduating Cum Laude in 1988. During this same period he completed several complementary studies at the

Washington University School of Medicine Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) is the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1891, the School of Medicine has 1,260 students, 604 of which are pursuing a medical degree with or ...

(

St Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...

), in the Department of Genetics, and conducting training in

Immunogenetics Immunogenetics or immungenetics is the branch of Medical Immunology and Medical Genetics that explores the relationship between the immune system and genetics. Autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, are complex genetic traits which result ...

and

Immunobiology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

of cell transplants. After a period of

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...

in the

Italian Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

, where he worked as a medical officer with the rank of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

, he joined as Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery of the Division of Transplantation in the School of Medicine of the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

, Pennsylvania. His professional career has been developed in the educational and scientific field mainly. He has been Co-Director of the Executive Office of Research Leadership (2001-2003), as Senior Associate Dean of Research (2003-2006) and has chaired the Dean's Research Office (2006-2012) at the Miller School of Medicine,

. Ricordi is Professor of Surgery at Stacy Joy Goodman, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Professor of

Biomedical Engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic). BME is also traditionally logical sciences ...

and

Microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...

and Immunology at the University of Miami, Florida, where he also appears as Director of the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) and the Cell Transplant Center. He is also a Head of the Human Cell Processing Facility, funded by

NIH The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

, which has been providing human cell products for research and clinical applications at the University of Miami, Florida, and throughout the world since 1993.

https://us.amazon.com/Codice-della-longevit%C3%A0-sana-biologicamente-ebook/dp/B0B2VXWKKC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=W08ZGU85B2UW&keywords=il+codice+della+longevita&qid=1670514632&s=books&sprefix=il+codice%2Cstripbooks%2C84&sr=1-1] Achievements

He was part of a team in 1986 at the

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

that pioneered what is known as the

islet transplant An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

procedure, developed to address the worst cases of diabetes type 1. He is credited with developing the automated method for islet cell isolation called the "Ricordi Method.” The method includes the use of the Ricordi Chamber, for which Ricordi was awarded the Nessim Habif World Prize for Surgery at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...

in 2001. The award is given to the invention of a machine that allows progress to be made significant in a field of surgery. Ricordi's invention of the automated islet isolation method made it possible to obtain a greater number of islets of a human

pancreas The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an end ...

; before they needed up to five or six organs to carry out a transplant. Ricordi has been published in academic and

medical journals Medical literature is the scientific literature of medicine: articles in journals and texts in books devoted to the field of medicine. Many references to the medical literature include the health care literature generally, including that of denti ...

, has over 1,778 scientific publications, >50,237 citations and an H-Index of 112. He has been awarded 27 patents as an inventor. He has participated in congresses and meetings on isolation and transplantation of islets for the treatment of diabetes. In 2021, Ricordi was named Editor in Chief of the European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences. 2022 Ricordi published the Italian bestseller "IL CODICE DELLA LONGEVITA' SANA" - Mondadori (Amazon.it) and its English edition "THE HEALTHSPAN CODE" (Amazon.com)

Awards and honors

* 2002 Provost Award from the University of Miami for its academic activity. * 2002 Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award of the ADA (American Diabetes Association) (San Francisco, CA) * 2002 Recipient of the Carl Gustav Groth Lecture Award, Nobel Forum (Stockholm, Sweden) * 2006 Awarded the Lois Pope LIFE International Research Award * 2006 Paul Harris Fellowship Award (

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

) * 2006 Roche Award for Outstanding Achievement in Transplant Science (Clinic) * 2009 Knighted Republic of Italy Highest Order of Merit Knighthood decoration of Cavaliere Ufficiale * 2010 Inducted into Association of American Physicians * 2011 Awarded D-Life's Top Award for making biggest difference in diabetes * 2008-2018 Ranked #1 world expert in transplantation of insulin producing cells for treatment of diabetes among 4,000 physicians, surgeons and scientists evaluated (Dec. 2018). * 2018 Inducted into National Academy of Inventors (Fellow) * 2019-2022 Supreme Council of the Ministry of Health of Italy

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricordi, Camillo 1958 births Living people University of Milan alumni American medical researchers University of Miami faculty American diabetologists Italian emigrants to the United States