Gianluca Tornese MD, PhD

Gianluca Tornese MD, PhD, is consultant in pediatrics at the Pediatric Endocrine and Diabetes Unit of Institute for Maternal and Child Health “Burlo Garofolo” in Trieste (Italy) which is a university center, recognized as a Scientific Institute for Research, Hospitalization and Healthcare.
After earning his medical degree at the University of Siena (Italy) in 2005, he completed both his pediatric residency (2012) and PhD program (2016) at the University of Trieste (Italy), the latter with a thesis on “Role of TRAIL (TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand) on the onset and progression of type 1 diabetes mellitus”. During the PhD program, in 2015 he was accepted as a research fellow at the University of Cambridge. Overall, a sizable part of his medical and post-degree training has been taking place abroad (Mexico, Sweden, Ethiopia, United Kingdom) giving him the chance to experience different cultures and healthcare systems.
At the present time, in addition to a busy clinical work, he teaches at the University of Trieste (both in medical school and pediatric residency program) and he is principal investigator in 4 running research projects on type 1 diabetes. His research interests focus on the role of autoimmunity in type 1 diabetes, monogenic diabetes and, recently, on the role of taste in the metabolic control of children and adolescent with type 1 diabetes. He is also interested in new technologies and work with adolescents.