About UPMC in Italy

UPMC Italy, active in the field of health care and biomedical research, is the Italian division of UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center). It deals with all Italian development and consulting activities in the sectors directly or indirectly related to UPMC medicine and research. In particular, in the field of research, it conducts and finances national and international projects of technological development and training in the field of biotechnology and regenerative medicine.

UPMC has been present in Italy since 1997, when it established a public-private partnership in the region of Sicily, with the creation of the Mediterranean Institute for Transplants and Highly Specialized Therapies (ISMETT) in Palermo. Today, ISMETT is one of the three recognized IRCCS present in Sicily.

In the wake of that partnership, UPMC is now building a health and research hub in Sicily. It will include a new 250-bed hospital and the Centre for Biotechnology and Biomedical Research of the Ri.MED Foundation, a centre of excellence for high-tech biotechnological and biomedical research projects. The Foundation was born from the collaboration between UPMC, the Presidency of the Council, the CNR, the region of Sicily, and the University of Pittsburgh.

UPMC has also established two advanced radiotherapy centers: UPMC Hillman Cancer Center San Pietro FBF, in Rome and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Villa Maria, in the province of Avellino in Mirabella Eclano. They are both part of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, one of the world's first integrated oncology and research networks. In the United States alone, more than 150,000 people are assisted each year.

Since 2018, UPMC has been operating the private UPMC Salvator Mundi International Hospital in Rome.

Executive Leadership

Dr. Angelo Luca
CEO, IRCCS ISMETT-UPMC
CEO, UPMC Italy
Vice President, Ri.MED Foundation
CEO, Salvator Mundi International Hospital
Associate Professor of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh

Dr. Luca completed his Medical Degree, followed by Residencies in Gastrointestinal Diseases and Radiology at the University of Palermo. During his training, he undertook a four-year Fellowship in Hepatic Hemodynamics at the Hospital Clínic i Provincial of the University of Barcelona, followed by a two-year Clinical Research Fellowship in Interventional Radiology at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he also obtained a License for Radiology Practice in Pennsylvania, USA.

In 1999, he relocated from the United States to Palermo, where he began his career at ISMETT, progressively taking on roles of increasing clinical responsibility: starting as Director of Radiology, then advancing to Director of the Department of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services, Director of the Education Unit, and ultimately being appointed Vice CEO of ISMETT in 2014.

Since 2016, he has shifted his focus to managerial roles, becoming CEO of ISMETT after completing an Executive Master in Healthcare Management and Social Care Organization, as well as a course in Healthcare and Social Assistance Management at the SDA Bocconi School of Management.

In 2018, his responsibilities expanded further as he was appointed by the UPMC Board to serve as CEO of UPMC Italy in Rome, Vice President of the Ri.MED Foundation in Palermo, and CEO of Salvator Mundi International Hospital in Rome.

Dr. Luca, an Adjunct Associate Professor of Radiology at the University of Pittsburgh, has made significant contributions to research in hepatology, interventional radiology, and transplantation. His work has resulted in over 400 publications, including more than 200 peer reviewed articles (H-index 42), and he has presented over 60 contributions at international conferences.