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 have been working as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Proteomics Unit of GIR and ProteoRed PRB2/ISCIII Platform at the Biomedical Research Institute of A Coruña (INIBIC).

From the beginning of my research career at INIBIC, I have worked in research lines focused 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 essential for both the early detection of subjects at risk of developing the disease as well as the identification of preventive strategies to be applied on those subjects. In this field, my main dedication has been to 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 covered strategies applied in vitro (cartilage, chondrocytes or mesenchymal stem cells) or 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 monitoring new therapies.

To date all my works have been performed using mass spectrometry (DIGE, SILAC and iTRAQ) methods. Since June 2015, I am the Responsible of the Mass Spectrometry Unit, a division of the ProteoRed PRB2/ISCIII Platform at INIBIC. Author and co-author of 26 scientific publications indexed in JCR-listed journals. Proteomics Professor 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 from ISCIII Networks: 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).

Valentina Calamia.