Predicting how patients respond to medication post-surgery

After heart surgery, patients are given a number of medications to help the healing process. The risks of secondary heart attacks are high. Dr. Dominick Angiollio at the University of Florida is a researcher and clinical doctor investigating "personalized" antiplatelet therapy with the goal of improving healthcare outcomes in patients with heart disease.  This research includes examining several blood-thinning medications including a drug that may help reduce the risk of heart attacks for cardiac patients awaiting surgery. As Dr. Angiollio puts it, "Conducting research allows me to be ahead of the curve and take better care of my patients."

One of his areas of major accomplishments has been towards defining the concept of variability in individual response to antiplatelet therapies commonly used in clinical practice. In particular, he has pioneered this field by not only describing this laboratory phenomenon, but most importantly investigating the clinical consequences of having different levels of antiplatelet effects in a given patient. Moreover, he has largely contributed to the understanding of the mechanisms of why antiplatelet agents may have altered effects in different patients. He was amongst the first to define how different genetic polymorphisms may affect profiles on individual response to antiplatelet therapy. Further, his discoveries have led to the identification of specific drug-drug interactions with commonly used antiplatelet therapies, which have in turn been associated with patient outcomes. Notably, these investigations have been considered by the United States Food and Drug Administration and by the European Medical Agency for updates on safety and indication labeling on various antiplatelet therapies. Dr. Angiolillo's line of research over the past decade on the understanding of antiplatelet drug response has developed into a novel area of clinical investigation which is that of "personalized" antiplatelet therapy. This includes looking at a patient's genetics, sex, overall health and age. He has been a leader in the pivotal clinical trials conducted thus far in this arena. Another area of major accomplishment has been Dr. Angiolillo's contribution towards the understanding of platelet function in patients with diabetes mellitus. He is indeed amongst the most innovative researchers in this arena having investigating clinical, cellular and genetic profiles of patients with diabetes and heart disease who are more likely to have future heart attacks despite taking their antithrombotic medications and unravelling the mechanisms behind this. He began a series of studies (OPTIMUS) aimed to define more effective antithrombotic strategies for diabetic patients to reduce their risk of future heart attacks. Dr. Angiolillo has received several national and international academic recognitions for his work and because of this he attracts many young scientists from across the globe to work under his leadership.

Dr. Angiolillo's major accomplishments have been in the field of thrombosis research. In particular, he has conducted seminal investigations on antiplatelet therapy in patients with coronary artery disease manifestations largely contributing not only to innovative concepts but also to the clinical development of novel therapies. The prominence of his work is well acknowledged by the international scientific community. Dr. Angiolillo was recently named to Thomson Reuters' 2014 list of The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds for being amongst the most-cited researchers based on peer-reviewed publications produced over an 11-year period, from 2002-2012, across 21 broad fields of academic study, including  agriculture, computer science, economics, engineering, medicine and mathematics. This included authors who published numerous articles that ranked among the top 1 percent of the most cited in their respective fields in the given year of publication. These documents represent research that the scientific community has judged to be the most significant and useful.

Dr. Angiolillo graduated summa cum laude from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart Medical School in Rome, Italy, where he completed training in Medicine and Cardiology. He subsequently pursued training in Interventional Cardiology at the Complutense University of Madrid in Spain.

Ultimately, Dr. Angiolillo received his PhD in Cellular and Molecular Cardiology. After completing his training in the most prestigious academic centers in Europe, Dr. Angiolillo joined the University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville in 2004. Currently, Dr. Angiolillo is an Associate Professor of Medicine with Tenure status. He is also the Director of Cardiovascular Research and Staff Cardiologist and Interventional Cardiologist at the University of Florida Health System. Dr. Angiolillo is triple board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine (Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, Interventional Cardiology).

Much of Dr. Angiolillo's professional career has been devoted to cardiovascular research in the field of interventional cardiology and acute coronary syndrome. His largest national and international recognition has been for his pivotal contributions in the field of thrombosis. In particular, Dr. Angiolillo has performed seminal studies on platelet function and modulation of antiplatelet drug response, including genetic studies, for which he has received numerous national and international academic recognitions. Among these he has received the 2013 Outstanding Achievement Award from the European Society of Cardiology and was most recently named to Thomson Reuters' 2014 list of The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds. He has also been a key investigator in the clinical development of numerous novel antithrombotic agents. His success in obtaining extramural funding has allowed to develop one of the most active clinical research centers in the United States as well as one of the leading centers for thrombosis research in the world.

Dr. Angiolillo has made major scientific contributions to many medical and cardiovascular journals, as well as textbooks of cardiovascular medicine. He has authored over 300 peer-reviewed articles with over 12,000 citations and an H-index of 59. He has authored 30 book chapters, and he is the editor of his own textbook on antithrombotic medicine. Due to his major contributions to the field of antithrombotic therapy in patients with cardiovascular disease manifestations, Dr. Angiolillo has been invited to deliver numerous lectures across the globe. His international visibility has also allowed him to develop a very active post-doctoral research program attracting physicians and scientists from across the globe to train under his leadership. In addition, to these responsibilities, Dr. Angiolillo has been a clinical mentor to numerous residents and fellows for which he has been recognized in multiple occasions with an Exemplary Teacher Award. His leadership role as an academic clinician scientist has allowed to him to nurture and promote career growth and development of many young trainees pursuing both academic and clinical careers in the United States and abroad.

Dr. Angiolillo is an active member of many cardiovascular societies in the United States and Europe. In addition, he is on the editorial board of numerous cardiovascular journals, some of which he also holds leadership roles. He is a scientific reviewer for many major journals and extramural funding agencies, including the National Institute of Health, and other federal funding agencies in several European countries.

Thomson Reuters' 2014 list of The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds, 2014

Exemplary Teacher Award at the University of Florida College of Medicine, 2014

Exemplary Teacher Award at the University of Florida College of Medicine, 2009

Marie Curie Individual Fellowship of the European Community for post-graduate Cardiovascular Research, 2002

Winner of the Training Fellowship in Interventional Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology, 2002