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Dr. Francesco Del Galdo
Associate Professor, Head of Scleroderma Programme at the Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine
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 Centre 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 > £2M 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.
The Scleroderma Research Programme at Leeds is accounted among the most comprehensive research programme on Scleroderma in the UK.