Alessandro Mauriello, MD, has been an Associate Professor of Pathology at University of Rome Tor Vergata since 2001. He received a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1982 and a Ph.D. in 1986. He is Chief of the Section of Diagnostic Autopsy of  the Tor Vergata University Hospital of Rome. His research interests mainly concern (a) the relationships between risk factors and morphological patterns of human atherosclerotic plaques; (b) the role of coronary and myocardial inflammation in the pathogenesis and prognosis of acute myocardial infarction; (c) inflammatory, metabolic genetic and imaging markers of plaque vulnerability; (d) the role of carotid thrombosis in the pathogenesis of acute cerebrovascular syndromes; (e) the role of infective agents in the pathogenesis of acute myocardial infarction; (f) the age-related morphological and morphometrical changes of cellular and interstitial tissue of the arterial wall; (g) the immunohistochemical study of the cytotypes and extracellular matrix of the human and experimental atherosclerotic plaques; (h) the role of progestogens, triglycerides and hypolipemic drugs in the progression of experimental atherosclerotic lesions; and (i) the quantitative evaluation of immunohistochemistry.