PI: Federica Piani
Focus: The main research area of our group is integrative and translational human hemodynamics, with an emphasis on deep cardiovascular phenotyping to characterize mechanisms of regulation, adaptation, and early dysfunction. We study how cardiac, vascular, autonomic, and metabolic systems interact to maintain hemodynamic stability and how subtle alterations in these networks contribute to cardiometabolic disease.
Our work integrates advanced hemodynamic testing, continuous monitoring, and multimodal vascular imaging to assess systemic and microvascular regulation in vivo. Through controlled physiological challenges—such as exercise, postural, and environmental stimuli—we investigate dynamic cardiovascular responses and identify individual hemodynamic profiles that reveal patterns of subclinical dysfunction and impaired vascular control. These physiological investigations are complemented by molecular and proteomic analyses targeting endothelial pathways, including the endothelial glycocalyx, to link systemic regulation with cellular mechanisms of vascular injury and repair.
A major translational topic of the group is female cardiovascular adaptation, with pregnancy as a unique model to study the limits of cardiovascular regulation under metabolic and hemodynamic load. By combining functional and molecular approaches, we aim to refine early detection of endothelial and hemodynamic dysfunction and improve mechanistic understanding of sex-specific vulnerability across the cardiometabolic spectrum.
