Leonardo V Riella MD PhD

Kidney & Pancreas Transplantation

Harold and Ellen Danser Endowed Chair in Transplantation at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School

Summary

Leonardo V. Riella, M.D. Ph.D. is the Harold and Ellen Danser Endowed Chair in Transplant Surgery at Harvard Medical School and the Medical Director of Kidney Transplantation at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Riella’s research is focused on understanding the mechanisms of immune regulation and on developing novel therapies to promote immune tolerance. In addressing kidney disease recurrence post-transplantation, I founded and lead the TANGO Consortium, the largest global effort dedicated to studying glomerular disease recurrence (www.tangoxstudy.com). His lab is also tackling the organ transplant shortage head-on by pioneering two extraordinary paths: bioengineering kidneys from human stem cells and turning to gene-modified pigs as potential kidney donors. These innovative approaches could drastically increase the availability of organs and transform the transplant landscape

Mass General Brigham/Brigham and Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General HospitalFellowship, Nephrology, 2007 - 2011
Mass General Brigham/Brigham and Women's HospitalResidency, Internal Medicine, 2004 - 2007
Federal University of Parana Faculty of MedicineClass of 2003

BWH/MGH Teaching Faculty Award Brigham and Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital, 2020
Department of Medicine Chair Research Award Brigham and Women's Hospital, 2019
Bright Futures Prize Brigham and Women's Hospital, 2019
Fellow of the American Society of Transplantation American Society of Transplantation, 2017
John P. Merrill Career Development Award in Transplantation American Society of Nephrology, 2016
Basic Science Career Development Award American Society of Transplantation, 2016
National Fellow to Faculty Transition Award American Heart Association, 2012
Excellence in Tutoring Award Harvard Medical School, 2011
Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology American Society of Nephrology, 2011
Annual Scientific Exchange Young Innovator Award American Society of Transplantation, 2010-2011
Annual Basic Science Fellowship Award American Society of Transplantation, 2009
Medicine Residency Excellence in Teaching Brigham and Women's Hospital, 2006
Fellow (ASNF) American Society of Nephrology
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PubMed

Erythropoietin prolongs graft survival in mice by counteracting trained immunity.
Sofia Bin, Barbara Franchin, Irene Ramos, Marina Iskhakova, Johan Noble
American Journal of Transplantation. 2025-10-22
Conventional and Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound Imaging in 2 Human Kidney Xenotransplant Recipients.
Sylvain Bodard, Amirkasra Mojtahed, Madeleine Sertic, Theodore T Pierce, Rory L Cochran
Transplantation. 2025-10-15
Beyond Theory and Into Practice: A Qualitative Study of the Experiences of Xenotransplant Recipients.
Macey L Levan, Harsimar Kaur Ahuja, Rhiannon D Reed, Jayme Locke, Carolyn N Sidoti
American Journal of Transplantation. 2025-10-14

Journal Articles

Chronic Rejection of Human Face Allografts
Leonardo V Riella, Bohdan Pomahac, George F Murphy, Christine G Lian, Luccie Wo, American journal of transplantation

First Broad Trial of Pig-to-Human Kidney Transplants Gets FDA Green LightSeptember 9th, 2025
Another New Hampshire Man Gets a Pig Kidney as Transplant Trials Are Poised to StartSeptember 8th, 2025
Pig Kidney Transplants Take a Step Forward with Approval of Human TrialsSeptember 8th, 2025
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Role of Siglec-E in Regulating AlloimmunityMASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL2019–2025
Significance of non-HLA antibodies in acute and chronic rejection of vascularized composite allograftsDepartment of Defense2019–Present
Novel Role of Siglec-E Inhibitory Receptor in AlloimmunityNIH2019–2024
Targeting Innate Immune Regulators to Reduce Rejection in Vascularized Composite Tissue TransplantsDepartment of Defense2020–2023
Biomarkers in VCA transplantationDepartment of DefensePresent

Co-Chair, American Society of Transplantation Fellows Symposium 2016 - Present
Co-Director of the AST Fellows Symposium, American Society of Transplantation 2016 - Present