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| Leonardo Riella, MD, PhD |
Leonardo Riella, MD, PhD, medical director of the Vascularized Composite Tissue Transplantation and Associate Medical Director of the Kidney/Pancreas Transplant Program in the Division of Renal Medicine, was awarded an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) Department of Defense award.
The NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and serves as the largest biomedical research agency in the world. Riella was recognized by the NIH for his project entitled “The Role of Siglec-E in Regulating Alloimmunity,” which explores the ability of the Siglec-E inhibitory receptor to turn down inflammation and its therapeutic targeting in transplantation. Identifying novel mechanisms of immune-system regulation like Siglec-E can lead to new therapies that can enhance transplant survival and minimize side effects of anti-rejection medications.
The CDMRP is an organization under the Department of Defense that recognizes programs advancing in biomedical research, groundbreaking technology and solutions to improve patient care for clinical benefit. The CDMRP selected Riella’s project entitled “Characterization and Validation of Non-HLA Antibodies as Noninvasive Biomarkers of Rejection in Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation.” This study aims to develop a noninvasive test to recognize face or upper-limb transplantation rejection early by measuring factors in the blood known as non-HLA antibodies. This could lead to better diagnosis as well as more tailored treatment, potentially increasing the success rate of face or limb transplantation.
Riella’s current work focusses on new solutions to diagnose and prevent transplantation rejection after organ, face or upper limb transplantation. He is pursuing the development of new drugs to aid in transplant tolerance, new diagnostic tests that detect earlier graft dysfunction and rejection, and the use of novel blood tests that allow researchers to measure the immune system function.
