Juan E. Gallo He is a medical doctor, graduated from the National University of Rosario (1983). He obtained his doctorate in medicine at the Karolinska Institute (1992), in Sweden, and the Certificate of Medical Specialist in Ophthalmology by the Ministry of Health of the Nation in 1997. The latter was revalidated in the Council of Certification of Medical Professionals of the National Academy of Medicine in 2016.
He is a Principal Investigator at CONICET, in the Health Researcher career track. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Translational Medicine Research (IIMT). He serves as a Full Professor of Ophthalmology at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences (FCB) of the Universidad Austral. He is a Gold Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision & Ophthalmology (ARVO) of the United States.
In addition, he is a member of the medical staff of the Ophthalmology Service of the Austral University Hospital, serving as coordinator of the Ophthalmology and Diabetes care area.
He has received scientific awards and holds an international patent in Europe and the United States for a pharmaceutical compound with potential applications in ophthalmology and oncology. He is the author of more than 40 articles in international journals, primarily in the fields of ocular angiogenesis, the prevention and treatment of diabetic retinopathy, and cell therapy for corneal diseases. He has received funding from public and private science and technology sources in Argentina, Sweden, and other countries.
Diabetes is a chronic disease, the incidence of which has increased considerably in recent years. Its eye complication, diabetic retinopathy, is the most important cause of vision loss in working-age people. Proper collaboration with the Diabetes Service of Hospital Austral This has allowed for the development of fruitful interdisciplinary work, leading to the creation of the Comprehensive Diabetes Care Unit (UNAIDI) at the Austral University Hospital. This interdisciplinary framework creates optimal conditions for conducting clinical research.
In translational research, the group has developed an animal model of type 2 diabetes with a high-fat diet, with the aim of mimicking the conditions found in overweight or obese type 2 diabetic patients.
In order to identify a molecule that can be used to treat diabetic retinopathy in its early stages, studies are being conducted on the effect of alpha-1-antitrypsin, a molecule with anti-inflammatory properties. Preliminary results are promising.
Research has been conducted on a fusion protein with anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic properties, in collaboration with the laboratory of Dr. Eduardo Chuluyan (UBA-CONICET). Published results show an inhibitory effect on corneal inflammation and neovascularization. The molecular mechanisms involved in the effect of this protein are still being studied.
Furthermore, a new pharmaceutical compound called Suramab (bevacizumab + suramin) with antiangiogenic effects has been developed and has already been successfully tested in the cornea of several animal models. The compound has been patented in the USA and Europe.
Several corneal pathologies are caused by a deficiency of limbal stem cells, leading to the invasion of blood vessels into the corneal parenchyma and a consequent loss of transparency. For the past eight years, in collaboration with the Tissue Bioengineering Department of Craveri Laboratories, the technique of autologous and homologous transplantation of limbal epithelial cells has been developed. A clinical protocol for autologous transplantation was approved by INCUCAI in 2017. Research in patients is expected to begin in early 2018. Subsequently, if the results are satisfactory, the homologous transplantation technique will be attempted. This new treatment offers a solution for corneal alterations associated with neovascularization, in which conventional corneal transplantation is not a suitable alternative due to the risk of immune rejection.
Juan Eduardo Gallo | Researcher – Group Leader | jgallo06@gmail.com jgallo@cas.austral.edu.ar
Federico Luengo Gimeno | Researcher | fluengogimeno@gmail.com
Constanza Potilinski | Postdoctoral Fellow | constanza.potilinski@gmail.com
Juan Pablo Salica | PhD Candidate | jp.salica@gmail.com
Gustavo Ortiz | PhD Candidate | gaodelacalle@gmail.com
Source: National Agency for Scientific and Technological Promotion, Argentina Funding period: 9/2017 – 9/2019 Total amount: ARG $ 300,000
Source: National Agency for Scientific and Technological Promotion, Argentina Funding period: 10/2009 – 10/2012 Total amount: ARG $ 150,000 (in collaboration with Juan Oscar Croxatto)
Synergic pharmaceutical composition, useful for inhibiting corneal and retinal neovascularization (angiogenesis), and in other organs, in a human being or animal; EP 2186529 (March 2012), US 9,023,350 (May 2015).
2017 | Certificate of Appreciation, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), for his outstanding contributions to the Global Research Training Initiative (USA) Total amount: ARG $300,000
2016 | Health Researcher Award, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Argentina. Total amount: ARG $300,000
2015 | ARVO Silver Fellow, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (USA) Total amount: ARG $300,000
2007 | Award for Best Scientific Work. XVIII Argentine Congress of Ophthalmology. Corneal epithelial stem cell transplantation, by F Luengo Gimeno, V Lavigne, S Gatto, O Croxatto, L Correa, JE Gallo. Total amount: ARG $300,000
2007 | General Research Grant Request Award, Panamerican Association of Ophthalmology. Total amount: ARG $300,000
2006 | Argentine Society of Ophthalmology Award "Organotypic Corneal Epithelium Implantation in the Treatment of Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency", by Luengo Gimeno F, Lavigne V, Gatto S, Ferro JI, Croxatto O, Gallo JE. Total amount: ARG $300,000
2002 | Poen Prize. "Nitric oxide in retinal detachment and vitreoretinal proliferation." Canto Soler V, Gallo JE, Dodds R, Suburo A. Argentine Society of Ophthalmology and Poen Laboratories
