Francesca Schinzari

Francesca Schinzari, M.D., is a physician scientist at the Policlinico A. Gemelli IRCCS in Rome, Italy. She has obtained her M.D. degree and her fellowship in Internal Medicine at the Catholic University Medical School in Rome. In addition to her clinical activity as an internist, including a 2-year experience in a COVID ward, she has been involved for long time in clinical research on the mechanisms of vascular dysfunction in patients with obesity and the metabolic syndrome. In particular, she has been leading investigator in studies evaluating the changes in the vascular homeostasis occurring in obese patients, with particular emphasis on the impact of their different metabolic phenotypes (metabolically healthy or unhealthy obesity) on vascular dysfunction. Moreover, her research activity has focused on the pathophysiology of the up-regulation of the vascular endothelin system occurring in patients with increased adiposity, as well as on the vasoactive effects of various adipokines and gut hormones, including leptin, ghrelin, obestatin and apelin, and their derangement in obese patients. The results of her research activity have been published in leading journals in her field of interest, including Diabetes, Diabetes Care, Hypertension, Circulation and several others.