Docenti

Caterina Di Bella

Assistant Professor

Telefono: 0498218846

E-mail: caterina.dibella.1@unipd.it

Group Website:

http://www.trapiantirenepancreas.com

  • Researcher RTDA (from July 2020 up to now): at University of Padua - Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation Unit.
  • Postdoctoral Research Assistant (September 2019 - July 2020): at University of Padua - Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation Unit .
  • General Surgery Residency: 2013-2019 University of Padua, Italy.
  • Research Fellow at the University of Illinois at Chicago – Division of Transplant, Department of Surgery from March 1, 2017 to February 28, 2018.
  • European Medical Licence: 04/03/2013, number 4730 - Siena, Italy
  • Doctor of Medicine: 2006-2012 University of Siena, School of Medicine, Italy
  • High School Diploma: 2001-2006 Liceo Scientifico “A. Genoino”, Cava de' Tirreni, Italy  



  • Clinical research on retrospective and prospective data, related to robot-assisted kidney transplantation, robot-assisted donor nephrectomy, robot-assisted pancreas transplantation, pancreas transplantation from pediatric donors, obesity and transplantation, small bowel transplantation, Living Kidney Donation and Kidney Paired Donation ( AB0 incompatible living donor kidney transplantation and living donor transplantation in immunized patient )
  • Hands-on research on new cutting-edge techniques used in transplantation, with special focus on minimally-invasive robot-assisted procedures
  • Observer in robotic transplant surgery
  • Observer of purification and isolation processes for allogenic islet transplantation from deceased donor pancreas or for autologous islet transplant from partial resection or total pancreatectomy
  • Training in laparoscopic - robotic lab with DaVinci Skills simulator and participation to dry-lab sessions
  • Presentation of research projects in International Congresses
  • Award winner of ESOT Educational Scholarship 2019

  1. Furian L, Nicolò A, Di Bella C, Cardillo M, Cozzi E, Rigotti P. Kidney exchange strategies: New aspects and applications with a focus on deceased-donor-initiated chains. Transpl Int. 2020 Aug 9;. doi: 10.1111/tri.13712. Review.
  2. Spaggiari M, Garcia-Roca R, Tulla KA, Okoye OT, Di Bella C, Oberholzer J, Jeon H, Tzvetanov IG, Benedetti E. Robotic Assisted Living Donor Nephrectomies: a safe alternative to laparoscopic technique for kidney transplant donation. Ann Surg. 2020 Jul 9; doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000004247.
  3. Tzvetanov IG, Spaggiari M, Tulla KA, Di Bella C, Okoye O, Di Cocco P, Jeon H, Oberholzer J, Cristoforo Giulianotti P, Benedetti E. Robotic kidney transplantation in the obese patient: 10-year experience from a single center. Am J Transplant. 2020 Feb; 20(2):430-440. doi: 10.1111/ajt.15626. Epub 2019 Dec 24.
  4. Petrara MR, Serraino D, Di Bella C, Neri F, Del Bianco P, Brutti M, Carmona F, Ballin G, Zanini S, Rigotti P, Furian L, De Rossi A. Immune activation, immune senescence and levels of Epstein Barr Virus in kidney transplant patients: Impact of mTOR inhibitors. Cancer Lett. 2019 Nov 3. pii: S0304-3835(19)30548-8. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2019.10.045.
  5. Neri F, Di Bella C, Leone S, Bencini G, Silvestre C, Tuci F, Rigotti P, Furian L. Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Kidney Transplant Recipients and Timing of Treatment With TURP: Impact on Renal Graft Survival and Function. Transplant Proc. 2019 Nov;51(9):2921-2926. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2019.02.072. Epub 2019 Oct 15.
  6. Spaggiari M, Tulla K, Okoye O, Di Bella C, Di Cocco P, Almario J, Ugwu-Dike P, Tzvetanov I, Benedetti E. The Utility of Robotic Assisted Pancreas Transplants. Transplant International. 10.1111/tri.13477.
  7. Spaggiari M, Mashbari H, Di Bella C, Benedetti E, Tzvetanov I. Portojejunostomy in Split Liver Transplantation as a Rescue Technique for Challenging Biliary Reconstruction: A Case Report. Transplant Proc. 2019 Mar;51(2):575-578. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2018.12.017. Epub 2018 Dec 30. PubMed PMID: 30879593.
  8. Spaggiari M, Lendacki FR, Di Bella C, Giulianotti PC, Benedetti E, Oberholzer J, Tzvetanov I. Minimally-Invasive, Robot-Assisted Procedure for Kidney Transplantation Among Morbidly Obese: Positive Outcomes at Five Years Post-Transplant. Clin Transplant. 2018 Sep 14:e13404. doi:10.1111/ctr. 13404.
  9. Gheza F, Di Bella C, Tulla K, Spaggiari M, Tzvetanov I, Benedetti E. Small bowel transplantation in identical twins - a video vignette. Colorectal Dis. 2018 Jul 24. doi: 10.1111/codi.14346. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 30039551.
  10. Spaggiari M, Tzvetanov IG, Di Bella C, Oberholzer J. Robotic Pancreas Transplantation. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2018 Jun;47(2):443-448. doi: 10.1016/j.gtc.2018.01.010. Epub 2018 Apr 4. Review. PubMed PMID: 29735034.
  11. Spaggiari M, Di Bella C, Di Cocco P, Campara M, Galen K, Gheza F, Oberholzer J, Benedetti E, Tzvetanov I. Pancreas Transplantation from pediatric donors: a single center experience. Transplantation. 2018 Apr 3. doi: 10.1097/TP.0000000000002208. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 29620617.
  12. Spaggiari M, Di Bella C, Di Cocco P, Furno S, Benedetti E, Tzvetanov I. Emergency Kidney Transplantation in Recipients With Iliocaval Thrombosis Using Splenic Vessel Anastomosis After Splenectomy: A Case Series. Transplant Proc. 2018 Jan - Feb;50(1):99-103. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2017.12.009. PubMed PMID: 29407339.
  13. Rigotti P, Capovilla G, Di Bella C, Silvestre C, Donato P, Baldan N, Furian L. A single-center experience with 200 dual kidney transplantations. Clin Transplant. 2014 Dec;28(12):1433-40. doi: 10.1111/ctr.12475. Epub 2014 Nov 4. PubMed PMID: 25297945.