As one of the leading cardiovascular scientists, Professor Anversa has made numerous substantial contributions to regenerative medicine. He received his M.D. degree at the University of Parma, Italy, and has been a professor of pathology at both New York Medical College and the University of Parma. Professor Anversa is currently teaching at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital as a professor of anesthesia and medicine in addition to his exceptional work as the director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School.
Professor Anversa’s cutting-edge research focuses on myocardial regenerative capabilities mediated by both exogenous and endogenous progenitor cells. His laboratory has shattered the preconceived notion that the heart is a post-mitotic organ characterized by an unchanging number of cells throughout a lifetime. His research has been focused on myocardial death, growth and regeneration under physiologic and pathophysiologic conditions. He has promoted and identified the critical role that resident cardiac stem cells and hematopoietic stem cells have in the repair of the failing heart. His findings established the concept that multi-potent cardiac stem cells could be involved in the physiological turnover of cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and fibroblasts. His exceptional work has been published in numerous high-impact journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Circulation Research, The Lancet, Nature Medicine, Nature and Cell. His papers illustrate a key understanding of both basic science and clinical relevance in his research as indicated by his work in translational medicine. He has been given numerous awards for his research including the Research Achievement Award of the American Heart Association (2004) and the Louis and Arthur Lucian Award (2008). In 2003, he was given the honor of being the Distinguished Scientist of the American Heart Association. From 2008 to 2013, he served on the NIH/NIA Board of Scientific Counselors. He has authored more than 316 peer-reviewed publications.