LIBERA FRESIELLO

Research Associate at the Cardiac Surgery Department of KU Leuven.

In 2008 she obtained her Master degree in Biomedical Engineering cum laude and special mention of merit at the University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Italy.

In 2011 she obtained a II level Master in Clinical Engineering cum laude at the University of Florence, Italy.

In 2014 she obtained a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the Nalecz Institute of

Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences of Warsaw, with honorary distinction.

Since 2011 she’s a member of the European Society for Artificial Organs (ESAO) and since 2019 she a board member of the International Society for Mechanical Circulatory Support (ISMCS).

Since 2015 she is also affiliated with the Institute of Clinical Physiology of the

National Research Council, Pisa, Italy.

Her main research activity concerns the study of the interaction between mechanical support devices (ventricular assist devices, intra-aortic balloon pump, extracorporeal membrane oxygenator, total artificial hearts, heart valves) and the cardiovascular system. Her research is characterized by a strong multidisciplinary approach: clinical studies and observations, data collection and analysis, cardiovascular modelling techniques.

Novelty of Dr. Fresiello’s Research

In the frame of her Marie Curie fellowship, Dr. Fresiello conducted a clinical research on exercise physiology in patients with a ventricular assist device (VAD), providing insights on the interaction heart-VAD and on the individuation of factors leading to a reduced exercise capacity. She extended this research also to heart transplanted patients in the frame of a Belgian national grant from the “Fonds pour la Chirurgie” (N. 489618).

In 2017 - 2018 she received the Frans Van de Werf scholarship, thanks to it she was visiting researcher at the Centre for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering of the Medical University of Vienna for 6 months.

Thanks to her biomedical engineering background, Dr. Fresiello’s activity is focused also on the translation of the cardiovascular and respiratory physiology into modelling. Dr. Fresiello develops advanced and complex cardiorespiratory simulators (both in silico and in vitro), suitable for the study of mechanical treatments for heart failure patients.

The simulators are suitable for research applications, as the investigations of complex pathophysiological conditions (activity supported by C1I-18-00576 KUL grant).

They are also used for medical device testing in a preliminary stage (before pre-clinical and clinical studies), activity conducted in strict cooperation with medical companies and supported by the C3/20/033 KUL grant.

Also, the simulators are used for the teaching of medical students on cardiovascular pathophysiology, activity conducted in cooperation with KUL and with the University of Murcia, Spain (Erasmus+, Staff Mobility for Teaching).