Prof Francesco Del Galdo

Profile

The Scleroderma Programme in the Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine is a patient-oriented multidisciplinary research programme established in 2009 by Dr Del Galdo. Dr Del Galdo graduated as MD in Italy in 1999. He completed his training in Immunology in Italy in 2003, focusing on autoimmune and connective tissue diseases.

He spent 5 years in the Scleroderma Center of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, USA where he completed his PhD studies and post-doctoral Fellowship focused on early events in the pathogenesis of Scleroderma; He then served as associate director of the centre for 2 years. During these years Dr Del Galdo discovered and characterised the role of Allograft Inflammatory Factor -1 in the pathogenesis of Systemic Sclerosis and identified a novel mouse model of tissue fibrosis in the caveolin-1 knock mouse.

 In 2009 he moved to Leeds with the aim of establishing a multidisciplinary translational research programme focused on improving outcome and clinical management of patients affected by Systemic Sclerosis. The Scleroderma Research Programme led by Dr Del Galdo in Leeds has accrued > £3M in funding in the first 5 years and pioneered in the application of Optical Coherence Tomography as virtual skin biopsy and in the application of serum biomarkers of overall fibrosis as outcome measures of activity and early diagnosis in Scleroderma. Since 2009 Dr Del Galdo joined the scientific and advisory boards of EUSTAR (EULAR Scleroderma Trial and Research consortium), the World Scleroderma Congress and he is a member of the UK SSc group.

In 2018 Dr Del Galdo has established the first national cohort for the prevention of Scleroderma. Founded by the Kennedy Trust for Rheumatology Research, the program grant aims at collection clinical, biomarker and biosample data of people with Raynaud's phenomenon at risk of devloping scleroderma to understand the molecular events responsible of disease onset and implement clinical trials for the delay of onset of Scleroderma.

The Scleroderma Research Programme at Leeds is accounted among the most comprehensive research programme on Scleroderma in the UK.Medical School, 5th year CTD Module since 2010; Direct training to medical students in the Outpatients department and wards in Chapel Allerton Hospital; Direct supervision of PhD and PGR fellows in St James's Hospital and Chapel Allerton Hospital.

Research, scleroderma, systemic Sclerosis, connective tissue diseases, biomarker, imaging, fibroblasts, outcome measures, pathogenesis, fibrosis, vasculopathy, autoimmunitySenior Lecturer, Head of Scleroderma ProgrammeResearch\nThe Scleroderma Research Programme is a patient oriented multidisciplinary research effort that comprises basic, translational and clinical research on Systemic Sclerosis. \n The basic research within the programme is focused on the identification of the early events in the pathogenesis of Scleroderma and the link between vascular and fibrotic manifestations of the disease. Further, the lab has recently developed skin equivalent 3D models to test pharmacological intervention in preclinical human models.

The clinical research is conducted in Chapel Allerton Hospital and rely on the extensive clinical research support of the Institute. \n The Translational research studies are conducted across the two sites and Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit are devoted to the identification and validation of soluble and imaging biomarker to be used as surrogate outcome measures and predictive markers of progression in Scleroderma.

Since 2017 Dr Del Galdo is also serving as Clinical and Academic lead for IT in the Leeds Institue of Rheuamtic and Musculoskeletal Medicine and Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust NIHR Biomedical Research Centre .

Research groups and institutes

• Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine
• Diagnostics and pathology
• Immunity and inflammation
• Musculoskeletal disease
• Targets and therapies
• Autoimmune Connective Tissue Diseases
• Imaging