Costantino Pitzalis is Group Leader at Humanitas Research Hospital, where he leads the Translational Rheumatology Lab. He is Full Professor of Rheumatology at Humanitas University and he is Versus Arthritis Professor of Rheumatology at Queen Mary University of London, Deputy Director of the William Harvey Research Institute, and Head of the Centre for Experimental Medicine & Rheumatology in London, a EULAR Centre of Excellence.

His research focused on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of inflammation and autoimmunity in chronic rheumatic diseases, with a particular emphasis on rheumatoid arthritis. Prof. Pitzalis is internationally recognized for pioneering the first stratified, biopsy-driven randomized clinical trials in RA (including R4RA and STRAP), demonstrating how synovial tissue molecular signatures can predict and guide therapeutic response.

He has published over 380 highly cited peer-reviewed papers (h-index: 94 / Citations: 31,120) in the field of inflammation, immunity and arthritis. He has written over 10 book Chapters including one published in the various editions of the Oxford Textbook of Rheumatology, currently in its 4th Edition, on “Synovial Pathology”

He is actively involved as coordinator or partner in major European research consortia, including MDR-RA, SQUEEZE, and 3TR, contributing to the advancement of innovative models of translational and precision medicine. His research spans the entire therapeutic pathway:  from early disease stages, where initial biological signals predictive of treatment response are identified, to later stages, where the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying therapeutic resistance are investigated. This approach across the various disease stages enables better understanding of disease pathogenesis and supports the progressive personalization of therapeutic strategies.