Alessandro Giudici

Post doc

Alessandro Giudici is a postdoctoral researcher in arterial mechanics. In his multidisciplinary approach to research, Alessandro integrates biomedical engineering and clinical studies to characterise changes in arterial mechanics and function associated with vascular ageing and disease.

Alessandro studied Biomedical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano (Milan, Italy), completing his BSc and MSc studies in 2014 and 2017, respectively. He spent his last year of MSc programme at the LaBS (Laboratory of Biological Structure Mechanics) at Politecnico di Milano developing and characterising a physical simulator of patients in dialysis. Alessandro undertook his PhD studies at Brunel University London (London, UK) between 2017 and 2021, investigating changes in arterial mechanics, structure and function associated with ageing and cardiovascular disease. During this period, he won the ARTERY Society (Association for Research into Arterial Structure and Physiology) Research Exchange Grant, allowing him to visit Prof Humphrey’s lab at Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut, US) to investigate layer-specific arterial mechanics. Alessandro joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering at CARIM in 2021, where he continues to use computational modelling and data analysis techniques to characterise arterial function in physiological and pathological conditions.

During his career, Alessandro has developed different analytical methods to study the arterial wall mechanical behaviour both in vivo and ex vivo. In vivo, Alessandro’s work has focused on developing techniques to assess arterial (dys)function non-invasively via ultrasound scanning and tonometry, including a method to estimate the arterial pressure waveform from ultrasound acquisitions. Ex-vivo, he developed a novel constitutive modelling framework to investigate the contribution of the three arterial layers to the macroscopic arterial wall mechanics.

Alessandro is Executive Committee member of the ARTERY Society, Editorial Board Member of Artery Research, and member of Working Group 2 of the EU COST action 18216 VascAgeNet.

Department of Biomedical Engineering
Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht
PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht
Room number: H3.336
T: +31 43 388 1658

  • 2024
    • Giudici, A., Szafron, J. M., Ramachandra, A. B., & Spronck, B. (2024). Instability in Computational Models of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Contraction. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 52(9), 2403-2416. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-024-03532-x
    • Parikh, S., Giudici, A., Huberts, W., Delhaas, T., Bidar, E., Spronck, B., & Reesink, K. (2024). Significance of Dynamic Axial Stretching on Estimating Biomechanical Behavior and Properties of the Human Ascending Aorta. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 52(9), 2485-2495. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-024-03537-6
    • Zanelli, S., Agnoletti, D., Alastruey, J., Allen, J., Bianchini, E., Bikia, V., Boutouyrie, P., Bruno, R. M., Climie, R., Djamaleddine, D., Gkaliagkousi, E., Giudici, A., Gopcevic, K., Grillo, A., Guala, A., Hametner, B., Joseph, J., Karimpour, P., Kodithuwakku, V., ... Charlton, P. H. (2024). Developing technologies to assess vascular ageing: a roadmap from VascAgeNet. Physiological Measurement. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6579/ad548e
    • van der Laan, K. W. F., Reesink, K. D., Lambrichts, S., Bitsch, N. J. J. E., van der Taelen, L., Foulquier, S., Delhaas, T., Spronck, B., & Giudici, A. (2024). Effect of rapid cooling, frozen storage, and thawing on the passive viscoelastic properties and structure of the rat aorta. Journal of Biomechanics, 171, Article 112190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2024.112190
    • Spronck, B., & Giudici, A. (2024). Towards a more widespread clinical use of cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and CAVI0: Defining reference values in healthy Russians. American Journal of Hypertension, 37(1), 21-23. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajh/hpad092
  • 2023
    • Roth, L., Dogan, S., Tuna, B. G., Aranyi, T., Benitez, S., Borrell-Pages, M., Bozaykut, P., De Meyer, G. R. Y., Duca, L., Durmus, N., Fonseca, D., Fraenkel, E., Gillery, P., Giudici, A., Jaisson, S., Johansson, M., Julve, J., Lucas-Herald, A. K., Martinet, W., ... Anacak, G. Y. (2023). Pharmacological modulation of vascular ageing: a review from VascAgeNet. Ageing research reviews, 92(1), Article 102122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2023.102122
    • Giudici, A., van der Laan, K. W. F., van der Bruggen, M. M., Parikh, S., Berends, E., Foulquier, S., Delhaas, T., Reesink, K. D., & Spronck, B. (2023). Constituent-based quasi-linear viscoelasticity: a revised quasi-linear modelling framework to capture nonlinear viscoelasticity in arteries. Biomechanics and modeling in mechanobiology, 22(5), 1607–1623. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-023-01711-8
    • Maier, J. A., Andres, V., Castiglioni, S., Giudici, A., Lau, E. S., Nemcsik, J., Seta, F., Zaninotto, P., Catalano, M., & Hamburg, N. M. (2023). Aging and Vascular Disease: A Multidisciplinary Overview. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(17), Article 5512. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12175512
    • Giudici, A., Spronck, B., Wilkinson, I. B., & Khir, A. W. (2023). Tri-layered constitutive modelling unveils functional differences between the pig ascending and lower thoracic aorta. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 141(1), Article 105752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmbbm.2023.105752
    • van Loo, C., Giudici, A., & Spronck, B. (2023). Correction: Potential adverse effects of vasodilatory antihypertensive medication on vascular stiffness in elderly individuals. Hypertension Research, 46(2), Article 552. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-022-01118-5
    • Malik, A. E. F., Giudici, A., van der Laan, K. W. F., Op 't Roodt, J., Mess, W. H., Delhaas, T., Spronck, B., & Reesink, K. D. (2023). Detectable Bias between Vascular Ultrasound Echo-Tracking Systems: Relevance Depends on Application. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(1), Article 69. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12010069
  • 2022
    • van Loo, C., Giudici, A., & Spronck, B. (2022). Potential adverse effects of vasodilatory antihypertensive medication on vascular stiffness in elderly individuals. Hypertension Research, 45(12), 2024-2027. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-022-01012-0
    • Giudici, A., Li, Y., Yasmin, Cleary, S., Connolly, K., McEniery, C., Wilkinson, I. B., & Khir, A. W. (2022). Time-course of the human thoracic aorta ageing process assessed using uniaxial mechanical testing and constitutive modelling. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 134, Article 105339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmbbm.2022.105339
    • Giudici, A., & Spronck, B. (2022). The Role of Layer-Specific Residual Stresses in Arterial Mechanics: Analysis via a Novel Modelling Framework. Artery Research, 28(2), 41-54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44200-022-00013-1
    • Giudici, A., & Spronck, B. (2022). A first step towards recognizing the fundamental role of smooth muscle tone in large artery (dys)function?Journal of Hypertension, 40(3), 422-424. https://doi.org/10.1097/HJH.0000000000003063
    • Giudici, A., Palombo, C., Kozakova, M., Morizzo, C., Cruickshank, J. K., & Khir, A. W. (2022). Subject-Specific Pressure Normalization of Local Pulse Wave Velocity: Separating Intrinsic From Acute Load-Dependent Stiffening in Hypertensive Patients. Frontiers in physiology, 12, Article 783457. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.783457
  • 2021
    • Giudici, A., Khir, A. W., Reesink, K. D., Delhaas, T., & Spronck, B. (2021). Five years of cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and CAVI0: how close are we to a pressure-independent index of arterial stiffness?Journal of Hypertension, 39(11), 2128-2138. https://doi.org/10.1097/HJH.0000000000002928
    • Giudici, A., Palombo, C., Kozakova, M., Morizzo, C., Penno, G., Jamagidze, G., Della Latta, D., Chiappino, D., Cruickshank, J. K., & Khir, A. W. (2021). Noninvasive carotid pressure-diameter loops to identify viscoelastic properties in ageing, hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Journal of Hypertension, 39(11), 2307-2317. https://doi.org/10.1097/HJH.0000000000002918
    • Giudici, A., Khir, A. W., Szafron, J. M., & Spronck, B. (2021). From Uniaxial Testing of Isolated Layers to a Tri-Layered Arterial Wall: A Novel Constitutive Modelling Framework. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 49(9), 2454-2467. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-021-02775-2
    • Giudici, A., Palombo, C., Morizzo, C., Kozakova, M., Cruickshank, J. K., Wilkinson, I. B., & Khir, A. W. (2021). Transfer-function-free technique for the noninvasive determination of the human arterial pressure waveform. Physiological Reports, 9(18). https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.15040
    • Li, Y., Giudici, A., Wilkinson, I. B., & Khir, A. W. (2021). Towards the non-invasive determination of arterial wall distensible properties: New approach using old formulae. Journal of Biomechanics, 115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2020.110102
    • Giudici, A., Wilkinson, I. B., & Khir, A. W. (2021). Review of the Techniques Used for Investigating the Role Elastin and Collagen Play in Arterial Wall Mechanics. IEEE Reviews in Biomedical Engineering, 14, 256-269. Article 9127811. https://doi.org/10.1109/RBME.2020.3005448
  • 2020
    • Giudici, A., Palombo, C., Kozakova, M., Morizzo, C., Losso, L., Nannipieri, M., Berta, R., Hughes, A. D., Cruickshank, J. K., & Khir, A. W. (2020). Weight loss after bariatric surgery significantly improves carotid and cardiac function in apparently healthy people with morbid obesity. Obesity Surgery, 30(10), 3776-3783. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-020-04686-y