Dr. Gianluca Iacobellis, MD, PhD, is Professor of Clinical Medicine, Director of the University of Miami Hospital Diabetes Service, and vice-chair of the IRB, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Dr. Iacobellis pioneered the research on the epicardial fat (EAT) and invented the echocardiographic EAT quantification as new cardiovascular risk factor and therapeutic target. Dr Iacobellis is considered the world-wide leading expert in EAT. As today, Dr Iacobellis has authored 158 scientific articles and 11 textbooks with a current h-index of 63 and 17672 citations. He has published in top-ranked journals such as Nature Endocrinology, Nature Cardiology, Journal of American College of Cardiology, Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, European Heart Journal, JAMA, JCEM. His research on EAT shifted the paradigm of the relationship of the heart with the adipose tissue. Dr Iacobellis’ group first discovered the active presence of GLP and GIP receptors within the epicardial adipocytes opening to new therapeutic avenues. Dr Iacobellis is leading several investigator-initiated studies and NIH funded R01 clinical trials on the role of EAT in coronary artery disease and atrial fibrillation (AF). The Liraglutide Effects on Atrial Fibrillation (LEAF) study, co-led with Dr Jeffrey Goldberger, was featured at the 2023 AHA meeting and could result in significantly improved outcomes from ablation used to treat AF. In the NIH-funded Trans-omic study Dr Iacobellis and colleagues are evaluating the role of EAT and, in particular, LAEAT in the pathogenesis of AF using a multi-omic (proteome, metabolome, transcriptome) approach in order to identify novel potential diagnostics and therapeutic targets.