About Us

Camillo Ricordi was born in New York, NY, and completed all his studies in Milan, Italy, with the highest scores and honors, starting from high school. After military service in the Italian Air Force as a Medical Officer, he worked at Washington University in St. Louis and at the University of Pittsburgh before moving to the University of Miami in 1993, where he served as Professor of Surgery, Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Microbiology-Immunology, and Director of the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) for three decades. He currently serves as Chief of the Division of Cellular Transplantation, Department of Surgery, Director of the Cell Transplant Center, and Director Emeritus of the DRI.

Since 1993, he has been Medical Director of the NIH-funded DRI cGMP (current GoodManufacturing Practices) Advanced Human Cell and Biologic Product Manufacturing Facility, which has provided an invaluable service to centers throughout the United States and worldwide by offering training programs and distributing human tissues, cells, and other biologic products for research and clinical applications.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ricordi launched a public healthspan program aimed at strengthening resistance to severe viral infections through targeted nutrition, physical fitness, and selected protective molecules. This initiative evolved into a broader strategy to improve resilience, prevent disease onset, and slow or halt progression of autoimmune diseases, including Type 1 Diabetes, as well as age-related chronic degenerative conditions (www.Fit4Healthspan.org).

Building on this vision, Ricordi co-founded AION Healthspan, Inc., a University of Miami start-up regenerative medicine company focused on extending healthy lifespan by integrating advanced cell-based therapies with molecular and preventive interventions. AION Healthspan’s first clinical program is directed at diabetic nephropathy and other forms of chronic kidney disease, with the goal of addressing major drivers of disability, morbidity, and loss of healthspan.