Prof. Maria Cristina Mele

Professor Maria Cristina Mele is a medical doctor and surgeon, specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology, who has devoted more than thirty years to Clinical Nutrition, adopting an integrated and multidisciplinary approach to the prevention and treatment of major conditions related to nutritional status.

She has extensive expertise in nutritional management during both physiological and pathological pregnancy, as well as in oncological, endocrine-metabolic, gastroenterological, and neurological disorders. Her experience also encompasses malnutrition associated with chronic diseases, post-surgical recovery, and complications related to obesity, including surgical treatment pathways and nutritional support in sports medicine.

She graduated with honors in Medicine and Surgery and subsequently obtained her specialization in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, with an experimental thesis focused on nutrition in pregnancy—an area she has continued to explore throughout her clinical and scientific career.

Currently, she serves as Director of the Clinical Nutrition Unit (UOC) at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS and carries out research activities at the Institute of Special Medical Pathology and Medical Semiotics of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.

Since 2002, she has been actively engaged in academic teaching within degree courses, residency programs, and university master’s programs, with particular emphasis on clinical nutrition, dietetics, and nutrition for health and well-being.

She is Supervisor of the ESPEN Fellowship Grant 2025 for the research project “Impact of an Omega-3 Enriched Oral Nutritional Supplement on Improving Surgical Outcomes in Patients with Peritoneal Carcinomatosis Undergoing Cytoreductive Surgery” and serves as an expert member in international research projects and programs.

She is the author of more than 100 scientific publications in indexed journals with impact factor, numerous book chapters, and over 150 oral communications and posters presented at major national and international congresses.