Prof. Dr. Carolina Lombardi

Associate Professor in Cardiology
University of Milano Bicocca, Milano
Italy
 
Head of Sleep Disorders Centre
Department of Cardiology, Istituto Auxologico IRCCS, Milano
Italy

I received my MD degree at Siena University (Italy) in 1998. During medical school, I was fascinated by neurology and its pathological environment; therefore, I decided to continue my studies with speciality training in Neurophysiopathology at the University of Siena (Italy). During my residency, my interest shifted particularly towards autonomic nervous system activity and sleep medicine, and with my supervisors’ guidance, I pursued a PhD in sleep medicine at Bologna University (Italy). I had the opportunity to work with Professor Lugaresi, Professor Montagna, and Professor Cortelli, who encouraged me to deepen my studies in the autonomic nervous system in Sleep Medicine. I continued this work in collaboration with Professor Parati at the “Istituto Auxologico Italiano” Hospital and Milan-Bicocca University, where I have been employed as a full-time researcher since 2005 and where I developed the skills needed to become an independent scientist.

Since 2005, I have been managing the Sleep Disorder Centre in the Department of Cardiology at the Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS in Milan (Italy). I hold managerial and clinical responsibilities in the Sleep Clinic; nonetheless, I dedicate 50% of my working time to research activities and the training and teaching of residents and Medical School students at the University of Milano-Bicocca. Moreover, since 2017, I have been a Senior Researcher in Cardiology at the University of Milano-Bicocca. In June 2018, I achieved the Italian National Scientific Qualification, which permits me to act as an Associate Professor in Cardiovascular and Respiratory Diseases.

Based on my background and interests, Professor Parati and I decided to focus my research on the cardiological and neurological consequences of sleep apnoea. I have studied cardiovascular and neurological alterations in patients affected by obstructive sleep apnoea, such as excessive daytime sleepiness, cognitive impairment, arterial hypertension, arrhythmias, heart failure, and autonomic nervous system alterations. On the other side, I am exploring neurological and cardiovascular diseases associated with sleep disorders, including parasomnias, epilepsy, and sleep-related breathing disorders, including obstructive and central sleep apnoea.

Our group has secured grants from the Ministry for Universities and Research to conduct applied studies concerning sleep disorders and cardiovascular diseases. Recently, I obtained a grant as the Principal Investigator within the framework of PNRR to conduct a study on the definition of Italian Phenotypes of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (IPNOS study).

Since 2007, I have been a member of the Scientific Committee of the “European multi-centre long-term observational cohort (ESADA – European Sleep Apnoea Database).” Since 2009, I have also served as a reviewer of projects submitted to the European Space Agency (ESA) Human Space Flight, Space Science Unit, and the European Science Foundation.

From 2024, I have been a member of the Long-Range Committee of the European Respiratory Society (ERS).