Pier Luigi Meroni
Professor of Rheumatology
University of Milan
Head Immunorheumatology Research Laboratory – Istituto Auxologico Italiano
Italy
Prof. Pier Luigi Meroni graduated at the University of Milan, Medical School. He has been trained in Internal Medicine and then in Clinical Immunology. He was nominated Full Professor in Internal Medicine in 2001 and in Rheumatology in 2005. Prof. Meroni has been the Head of a Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology Unit and then of the Department of Rheumatology till 2017. He is now Director of the Immunorheumatology Research Laboratory – IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano. He has been Director of the Post-graduated School in Allergy & Clinical Immunology and of the School in Rheumatology of the University of Milan.
His clinical and scientific works have been focused mainly on autoimmune/rheumatic diseases, in particular he investigated the pathogenic mechanisms responsible for systemic lupus erythematosus and the anti-phospholipid syndrome. He has been also interested in clinical and laboratory aspects of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and scleroderma. He investigated the pathogenic role of serum autoantibodies both in in vitro and in vivo models. Prof. Meroni has been one of the first researchers involved in the standardization of the diagnostic tests for autoimmune systemic rheumatic diseases and he is now the Chairman of the EULAR Task Force for the guidelines for diagnostic laboratory tests in autoimmune rheumatic diseases. He also started the first Pregnancy Clinic for taking care of pregnant women with systemic autoimmune diseases in Milan.
He has published more than 650 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He has authored and edited 7 books and written 50 book chapters. h-index: 84(Scopus), 156 (Google Scholar).
His editorial activity is characterized by his inclusion in the editorial board of several journals in the field of rheumatology and autoimmunity.