Microplastic Syndrome/Chicago Cluster
Can a shrimp detoxify us from plastic?
Microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) are pervasive contaminants found in water, air, food, and human tissues. Rapidly increasing production has intensified concerns about their health effects.
There is no organ that is free from microplastic contamination, as microplastics can circulate in the blood up to micrometer sizes and are found, most often, in breast milk, amniotic fluid, sperm, lymphatic fluid, and urine.
Speakers will highlight the main impacts of microplastics on individual and environmental health. Results of a preliminary study on the potential benefits of taking Chitosan from Procambarus Calrkii (Louisiana Red Prawn) in trapping microplastics in the gastrointestinal tract, reducing their absorption and promoting their elimination, will also be presented.
Prof. Umberto Cornelli is a physician and pharmacologist born in Italy in 1945. He graduated from the University of Milan and specialized in Pharmacology, Pharmacokinetics and Clinical Pharmacology.
He taught at the University of Padua and contributed to the clinical development of NSAIDs, anti-ulcer and antithrombotic drugs, many of which are globally marketed, including defibrotide, a life-saving therapy in the United States.
Since 1982 he has been working with Loyola University Chicago, where he is Associate Professor of Pharmacology. In 2001 he received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Loyola University for his research on Alzheimer’s disease and oxidative stress.
He has been President of the European Society of Biological Nutrition (SENB). He has been interested in the toxic effects of microplastics on humans for many years and has taught Food Toxicology at ITS Bergamo. He holds 15 patents, authored 10 books and published more than 300 scientific papers.
Dr. Claudio Casella holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry and was born in Pavia in 1983. He graduated from the University of Pavia and trained in Chemical Technologies for Environment and Resources and Applied Chemical Methodology.
He has taught at several universities in Ecuador, lectured internationally around the world and contributed to the development of various nutraceutical products in South America.
He holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Research on the topic of Conversion of Biomass to Biodiesel and another recently completed Ph.D. in Environmental Chemical and Biofood Engineering from the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Oviedo, Spain, on the topic of Micro-Nanoplastics.
Since 2024, he has been collaborating with Professor Umberto Cornelli, M.D., Ph.D., of Loyola University Chicago on human health issues. For the past 5 years, he has studied the harmful effects of micro-nanoplastics on human and environmental health. He has authored 2 books and published more than 23 scientific papers, indexed on SCOPUS and Web of Science.
