Valentina Calamia

Graduated in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology at the University of Rome "La Sapienza" in 2003. In 2007 I obtained the title of PhD in Pathophysiology and Clinical of the Skeletal apparatus at the same University. Since then I work as postdoctoral researcher at the Proteomics Group-ProteoRed PRB2/ISCIII of the Biomedical Research Institute of A Coruña (INIBIC). From the beginning of my research career at the INIBIC and until now, I have worked in the research lines of the Rheumatology group, focusing on the use of proteomic approaches to advance the knowledge of the pathogenic mechanisms implicated in osteoarthritis (OA) development and progression. This knowledge will undoubtedly be clinically relevant for treating the millions of patients affected worldwide, and may be essential both for the early detection of subjects at risk to develop the disease and for the identification of preventive strategies to be applied on those subjects. In this field, my main dedication has been the discovery and verification of new protein biomarkers useful for the diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic response of several rheumatic diseases. My first works focused on deciphering the mechanism of action of two drugs used in clinical practice whose therapeutic utility remains controversial: glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate. More recently we have moved the strategies applied in vitro (in cartilage, chondrocytes or mesenchymal stem cells) to clinical samples such as serum or synovial fluid from arthritic patients, in order to find possible protein markers of response to treatment, useful for predicting the efficacy of treatments or for the monitoring of new therapies. To date all my works have been performed using mass spectrometry (DIGE, SILAC and iTRAQ) methods. Since June 2015 I am responsible of the Mass Spectrometry Unit, a division of the Proteomic Platform of the INIBIC. Author and co-author of 26 scientific publications indexed in JCR-listed journals. Proteomics teacher in official university master's degree courses (University of A Coruña, UDC). Bachelor and master theses tutor (UDC). Internships supervisor. Collaborations with national research groups: members of PRB2, RIER and CIBER-BBN. Member of the Spanish Society of Proteomics (SeProt) and the Spanish Society of Rheumatology (SER). Organizer of national congress (SEProt).