Johns Hopkins Children’s Center pediatric liver disease specialist Maria Grazia Clemente, M.D., Ph.D., has won the prestigious Best Italian Woman Inventor Award for 2011. Clemente received the award on June 14 during a ceremony in Turin, Italy.
 
Clemente won for her research on Celiac disease that led to the development of a blood test that detects lesions in the lining of the small intestine caused by gluten intolerance. Celiac disease is marked by gluten intolerance, which causes the immune system to mistakenly attack the lining of the small intestine causing progressive damage. The new blood test can help diagnose the disease without the need for upper endoscopy and intestinal biopsies — now required for a definitive diagnosis — and may one day spare many patients from having to undergo these invasive procedures.
 
Currently in its third year, the Italian Women Inventors & Innovators competition honors the most promising achievements in various fields, including medicine, design and communications, among others. The competition encourages the exchange of knowledge and creative ideas leading to the development of new products and technologies. Thirteen finalists were invited to present their projects, and Clemente was among six award recipients and the only one in the group to receive the best inventor award.
 
Winning the Italian contest automatically allows Clemente to compete on European-wide level in 2013 in the European Union Women Inventors & Innovators competition.
 
Born in Sardinia, Italy, Clemente joined the Johns Hopkins Pediatric Liver Center in 2007. After years of research on autoimmune hepatitis and Celiac disease, Clemente’s work now focuses on discovering the causes of biliary atresia, a serious congenital disease of the liver that requires a complex surgery in the first weeks of life or a transplant later in childhood.  

Johns Hopkins Children’s Pediatric Liver Center 

Italian Women Inventors & Innovators 
 

European Union Women Inventors & Innovators Network