Leonardo V Riella MD PhD
Kidney & Pancreas Transplantation
Harold and Ellen Danser Endowed Chair in Transplantation at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
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55 Fruit St.White-5-546CBoston, MA 02114
Phone+1 617-726-5277
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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
Education & Training
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
Certifications & Licensure
MA State Medical License 2007 - 2027
NH State Medical License 2021 - 2027
RI State Medical License 2021 - 2026
American Board of Internal Medicine Internal Medicine- American Board of Internal Medicine Nephrology
Awards, Honors, & Recognition
- BWH/MGH Teaching Faculty Award Brigham and Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital, 2020
- Bright Futures Prize Brigham and Women's Hospital, 2019
- Department of Medicine Chair Research Award Brigham and Women's Hospital, 2019
Clinical Trials
- Efficacy and Safety of Eculizumab for Treatment of Antibody-mediated Rejection Following Renal Transplantation Start of enrollment: 2013 Nov 01
- Belatacept Conversion in Proteinuric Kidney Transplant Recipients Start of enrollment: 2015 Oct 01
- Conversion to Sirolimus: Effects in Cytomegalovirus Infection Recurrence Start of enrollment: 2015 Sep 01
Publications & Presentations
PubMed
- Combined Anti-CD20/Anti-CD38 Therapy in Posttransplant Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis Recurrence: A Retrospective, International, Multicenter Study.Paolo Cravedi, Umberto Maggiore, Gabriele Mortari, Federico Alberici, Gaetano La Manna
Transplantation Direct. 2026-02-01 - Oral tributyrin supplementation induces Treg-mediated immune regulation and prolongs allograft survival in preclinical transplant models.Daniel M Mendes, João I B Gonçalves, Kaifeng Liu, Heitor P V Da Costa, Hugo De L Correa
American Journal of Transplantation. 2026-01-17 - Immune profiling in a living human recipient of a gene-edited pig kidney.Guilherme T Ribas, André F Cunha, Jonathan P Avila, Alessia Giarraputo, Leela Morena
Nature Medicine. 2026-01-01
Journal Articles
- Chronic Rejection of Human Face AllograftsLeonardo V Riella, Bohdan Pomahac, George F Murphy, Christine G Lian, Luccie Wo, American journal of transplantation
Authored Content
- Kidney Transplant iBookJune 2019
Press Mentions
Man Gets Human Kidney After Record-Breaking Pig Kidney PerformanceJanuary 17th, 2026- The First ‘Across the Bridge’: Man Who Received Experimental Pig Kidney Transplant Now Has a Human OrganJanuary 17th, 2026
- Scientists Grow More Hopeful About Ending a Global Organ ShortageNovember 12th, 2025
Grant Support
- Significance of non-HLA antibodies in acute and chronic rejection of vascularized composite allograftsDepartment of Defense2019–Present
- Role of Siglec-E in Regulating AlloimmunityMASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL2019–2025
- 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
Committees
- Co-Chair, American Society of Transplantation Fellows Symposium 2016 - Present
- Co-Director of the AST Fellows Symposium, American Society of Transplantation 2016 - Present
Professional Memberships
- Fellow
Other Languages
- Italian, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish
Industry Relationships
- Investigator-initiated research, Bristols-Meyers-Squibb
External Links
- Personal Websitehttp://www.leoriella.com
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