IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital

Professor Francesco Maisano is a full professor of cardiac surgery at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan, where he also serves as director of the Heart Valve Center and head of the Cardiac Surgery Unit at the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital. His education started in 1990 at the Catholic University of Rome with a degree in Medicine and Surgery, and it continued in 1995 at La Sapienza University of Rome with a specialization in Cardiac Surgery. He studied abroad for a while at the University of Alabama Birmingham (Alabama, USA) as a Special Postgraduate Fellow.

Dr. Maisano is a specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disorders, with an emphasis on valve diseases and heart failure, both from a clinical and research standpoint. The physician is actually among the top specialists in the world for mitral repair and tricuspid and mitral disorders. His area of interest includes transcatheter and exclusively surgical novel procedures.

In addition, he has won numerous honors and recognitions, including the Silver Medal for Innovation from the European Society of Cardiology and the Israeli Cardiology Innovation Lifetime Achievement Award for Research and Teaching in the Field of Interventional Cardiology, both in 2018. Some implantable devices for the treatment of valvular and other heart problems are based on his more than 25 patents in the fields of cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology. He is the author of more than 550 publications and a reviewer for the leading scientific journals in the area.

At the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, Professor Pietro Mortini oversees the neurosurgery and stereotactic radiosurgery unit. He also does outpatient care at the La Madonnina Nursing Home.

He holds the positions of Clinical Professor of Neurological Surgery at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. (USA), and Full Professor of Neurosurgery at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University. His education started in Parma, where he graduated in 1986 with a degree in medicine and surgery with honors and an honorable mention. He became a neurosurgery specialist at the University of Verona in 1991. Among his many international experiences are his visits to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, the Hospital Lariboisiere in Paris, and the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.

He was given the position of Visiting Professor of Neurosurgery by the Neurological Institute of George Washington University in 2002 after receiving an International Fellowship there in 1999. Prof. Mortini's areas of expertise in surgery were treating cerebrovascular diseases, brain and spinal malignancies, and skull base surgery. With the Gamma Knife, he has completed more than 8,000 neurosurgeries and stereotactic radiosurgeries.

He oversees the Neurosurgery Unit, which treats over 200 cases of pituitary tumors annually and is a global reference center for the field. The unit is also at the forefront of the application of new technologies, including intraoperative neurophysiology, 3-D intraoperative endoscopy, cortical mapping with intraoperative monitoring, intraoperative ultrasound, portal brain surgery, minimally invasive spinal surgery, and neuronavigation. Additionally, the Unit performed the first brain tumor removal surgery in history in 2020 with the use of a robotic scope.

Along with his clinical work, Professor Mortini has devoted his career to the study and creation of novel neurosurgical methods, which has resulted in the creation of more than sixty innovative micro-neurosurgical instruments.

Professor Stefano Cascinu is a full professor of medicine at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, the head of the oncology outpatient clinics and day hospital, and the director of the oncology department at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan.

He started his education at the University of Ancona in 1985, where he graduated with a degree in medicine and surgery. In 1988, he became an oncologist. In 2002, he went on to the University of Bologna to earn a second specialization in radiotherapy oncology. He also completed a term of training at Einstein College in New York while pursuing his education. In his clinical practice, Professor Cascinu mostly treats and manages gastrointestinal tract neoplasms. 

His specialty now mostly lies in treating neoplasms of the pancreas, biliary tract, stomach, esophagus, and colon. Additionally, it has significantly improved the course of treatment for pancreatic and stomach neoplasms.

His work focuses on the biological characterization of gastrointestinal tract neoplasms (those of the esophagus, stomach, colon, pancreas, and biliary tract) and the creation of novel therapeutic approaches for their treatment.

He has written and co-written 525 book chapters and articles for scientific journals. It has a 56 H index. He consistently takes part in the industry's national and international congresses.

Professor Vincenzo Salini is a full professor at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan and the head of the orthopedics and traumatology unit at the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital in Milan. Following his graduation from Gabriele D'Annunzio University of Chieti with a degree in Medicine and Surgery, he pursued further training in the same city, initially specializing in Orthopedics and Traumatology and subsequently Sports Medicine. In particular, he is committed to the study of different types of stem cells (including from adipose tissue) and their application in medicine, as well as the creation of novel tools for revision prosthetic surgery. His scientific focus is on regenerative medicine and prosthetic surgery. 

Evaluation of the function of Ortho biology in the management of tendinopathies, muscular strains, and pseudoarthrosis is another goal of his work. Over the course of his career, he has conducted over 6,000 procedures, at least 2,800 of which have been in the fields of traumatology, sports medicine, and prosthetic surgery.

He is the author of multiple monographs on stem cell issues and other orthopedic issues, published in both Italian and English. Among the more than 200 scientific papers he has authored, 130 have a high impact factor.