Alunno AlessiaAlessia Alunno is Assistant Professor of Rheumatology at the Rheumatology Unit of the Department of Medicine, University of Perugia. She received her medical degree in 2007 at the University of Perugia, where she also obtained the Graduate diploma inRheumatology in 2012. She is now completing her PhD in Medical Biotechnologies at the Department of Medicine of the University of Perugia with a thesis focused on stem cell therapy in Sjögren's syndrome. During her training, she completed a one-year research fellowship at the Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology of the Queen Mary University of London. During the same period, she improved her skills in medical statistics through a series of training courses endorsed by the National Institute for Health Research (NHS) at the Guy's & St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust and King's College, London. She is a member of the Italian Society of Rheumatology and also a member of the Scientific Committee of the Italian Federation for Research on Arthritis. Moreover, she has been a member of the Emerging EULAR Network (EMEUNET) since 2010 and currently leads the subgroup for Newsletters. Her research activity has mainly focused on the interplay of T and B cells in the pathogenesis of Sjögren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, with particular interest in the identification of novel therapeutic targets. She has co-authored over 50 articles in international peer-reviewed journals on these subjects and presented her work at national and international congresses including EULAR Congress, where she was also invited to chair some sessions. She received four young investigator awards at the National Congress of the Italian Society of Rheumatology and three best abstract presentation awards at the International Congress on Controversies in Rheumatology and Autoimmunity. Dr. Alunno is associate editor of BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders journal and serves as a reviewer for several international rheumatology and immunology journals. Read More Read Less