Cristina Maria Del Prete | Medicine and Dentistry | Women Researcher Award

Dr. Cristina Maria Del Prete | Medicine and Dentistry | Women Researcher Award 

Rehabilitation Department Chair at Local Health Authority Italy

Dr. Cristina Maria Del Prete is a recognized professional in the field of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, known for her commitment to advancing innovative healthcare models, interdisciplinary rehabilitation practices, and measurable improvements in patient quality of life. She completed comprehensive medical education and specialized training in rehabilitation medicine, followed by multiple advanced executive and managerial qualifications focused on healthcare systems, organizational leadership, digital transformation, and strategic management. Her education laid a strong foundation for a career that has spanned clinical practice, healthcare administration, academic teaching, and national health policy participation. Over the years, she has held progressive leadership roles within major public healthcare structures, directing rehabilitation departments, coordinating multidisciplinary teams, and overseeing complex service networks involving hospital- and community-based rehabilitation centers. Her responsibilities have included workforce management, budget oversight, strengthening patient-care pathways, improving standards of disability support, and enhancing regional service delivery in alignment with evolving healthcare regulations. She has also actively contributed to national and regional scientific boards, steering committees, and professional societies focused on improving spasticity management, supporting patients with neurological conditions, addressing musculoskeletal pain, and advancing gender-inclusive perspectives within modern healthcare. Her research output reflects a strong blend of clinical relevance and academic rigor, focusing on post-stroke rehabilitation, botulinum toxin interventions in neuromotor disorders, gait analysis, scoliosis management, family coping mechanisms in the context of disability, and the psychological dynamics influencing care outcomes. Her published studies in international peer-reviewed journals demonstrate a dedication to evidence-based rehabilitation, resulting in 63 citations from 55 documents, 7 published scientific works, and an h-index of 4. She has also contributed extensively to academic progress through university teaching appointments across multiple medical programs, where she has trained students in foundational and advanced principles of rehabilitation medicine. International clinical training and professional development programs have further enhanced her expertise and broadened her exposure to advanced rehabilitative technologies, patient-centered methodologies, and global best practices. Throughout her career, she has remained consistently committed to improving health system performance, innovating care delivery frameworks, and conducting research that informs more efficient, equitable, and clinically effective rehabilitation services. Her professional journey reflects a continuous dedication to advancing healthcare quality, supporting both patients and practitioners, and strengthening the scientific foundations of modern rehabilitation.

Featured Publications:

Del Prete, C. M. (2025). Determinants of sibling relationships in the context of mental disorders. PLoS One.

Del Prete, C. M. (2025). Siblings of persons with disabilities: A systematic integrative review of the empirical literature. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review.

Del Prete, C. M. (2023). Parentification, distress, and relationships with parents as factors shaping relationships in families with disability. Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Del Prete, C. M. (2022). An observational cross-sectional study of gender and disability as determinants of person-centered medicine in botulinum neurotoxin treatment of upper motoneuron syndrome. Toxins.

Del Prete, C. M. (2022). Brace treatment in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: A rehabilitative point of view. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Del Prete, C. M. (2021). Early botulinum toxin type A injection for post-stroke spasticity: A longitudinal cohort study. Toxins.

Del Prete, C. M. (2022). Efficacy of ultrasound-guided percutaneous lavage and biocompatible electrical neurostimulation in calcific rotator cuff tendinopathy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Del Prete, C. M. (2004). Conservative rehabilitative treatment of facial nerve injuries: A critical literature review. Europa Medicophysica.

Del Prete, C. M. (2002). Outcome research in adults with neurological disability. Europa Medicophysica.

Del Prete, C. M. (2001). Therapeutic water exercise in patients with hip arthroplasty. Europa Medicophysica.

Sandhini Agarwal | Medicine | Best Researcher Award

Ms. Sandhini Agarwal | Medicine | Best Researcher Award

Medical Student at Valley Vein Health Center, Georgetown University School of Medicine, United States.

🌍Sandhini Agarwal is a medical student at Georgetown University, with extensive experience in clinical settings, research, and leadership. She has worked as a research assistant at UChicago Medicine and Stanford Medicine, focusing on neural network-based systems, pediatric cardiology, and thyroid cancer. Her clinical experience spans pediatrics, ambulatory care, and community health outreach. Additionally, she has held leadership roles in organizations such as Georgetown Street Medicine and the Phoenix Biology RSO at UChicago. She has also been an active volunteer with Street Life Ministries and has received numerous academic awards.

Profile👤

Education 🎓

🎓Sandhini Agarwal attended the University of Chicago, where she earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences and a minor in Health and Society, graduating cum laude with a GPA of 3.88/4.0. During her time at UChicago, she was consistently recognized for her academic excellence, making the Dean’s List from 2021 to 2022 and earning the Clinical Excellence Scholars Track recognition. She also received multiple awards during high school, including the Senior Book Award in Biology and the Faculty Cup Nominee. Sandhini is currently pursuing her medical degree at Georgetown University School of Medicine, Class of 2028. Her academic focus continues to center around biology, medicine, and public health, with a particular interest in addressing health disparities and improving healthcare access for underserved communities. Sandhini’s academic achievements reflect her commitment to excellence and her determination to make a meaningful impact in the medical field.

Experience💼

🩺Sandhini Agarwal has extensive clinical and research experience that spans multiple prestigious institutions. She is currently involved in clinical work at Georgetown Med, including shadowing Dr. Sejal Bavishi in pediatric outpatient clinics and assisting with physical exams. She also plays a key role in community health initiatives through Hoya Clinic and Learn2Derm, where she educates underserved children on skincare. Prior to Georgetown, Sandhini gained valuable experience at UChicago Medicine, conducting patient interviews as a research assistant for the Hospitalist Project. She also worked at Valley Vein Health Center as a patient care coordinator, conducting surveys and researching Ozempic’s impact on lymphedema. In addition to her clinical roles, Sandhini has participated in research at institutions such as Stanford, where she worked on developing neural network-based systems for medical imaging, and at Harvard Medicine, where she researched thyroid cancer pathways. Her experiences in both clinical care and research have provided her with a comprehensive understanding of healthcare.👨‍🔬🌍

Awards and Honors 🏆

Sandhini Agarwal has received several prestigious awards for her academic and extracurricular achievements. At the University of Chicago, she earned a spot on the Dean’s List from 2021 to 2022 and participated in the Clinical Excellence Scholars Track, recognizing her academic prowess and commitment to clinical excellence. In high school, she received multiple honors, including the Senior Book Award in Biology and the Faculty Cup Nominee. Sandhini was also recognized as a National AP Scholar for her high AP scores and received the Katen Metcalf Scholar award in 2021. She was honored with the Aspirations Award by the National Center for Women & Information Technology in 2018 and won several medals in the National Spanish Exam, including Gold in 2017. Sandhini’s accomplishments reflect her strong academic background and her commitment to leadership, service, and excellence in healthcare.

Research Interests 🔬

🔬Sandhini Agarwal’s research focuses on the intersection of biology, medicine, and technology, with a particular interest in pediatric cardiology, endocrinology, and neuroimaging. At UChicago Medicine, she researched FoxF1 expression in the second heart field and its role in cardiomyocyte differentiation and heart development. This work contributed to the understanding of heart disease and its underlying mechanisms. She also worked on analyzing thyroid cancer pathways at Harvard Medicine, focusing on the diagnosis-to-treatment process for thyroid cancer patients. Sandhini’s research experience extends to neural networks for medical imaging at Stanford, where she developed a system to segment brain parenchymal metastatic lesions using radiological data. In addition, she contributed to cardiovascular drug discovery at UChicago, analyzing genomic data and supporting the HeartBioPortal database. Sandhini’s research aims to enhance healthcare delivery and outcomes, with a particular focus on improving diagnostic accuracy, treatment pathways, and patient care, especially in underserved populations.🌿🧪

Conclusion 🔚 

Sandhini Agarwal is highly deserving of the Best Researcher Award. Her dedication to both research and clinical practice, combined with her leadership in social initiatives, demonstrates a holistic approach to the field of medicine. Her achievements indicate a future leader in healthcare and research, and her continued contributions promise even greater impacts in the years to come.

Publications Top Notes 📚

A Holistic Approach to Undesired Content Detection in the Real World

Authors: Markov, T., Zhang, C., Agarwal, S., Jiang, A., Weng, L.

Citations: 35

Year: 2023

Training language models to follow instructions with human feedback

Authors: Ouyang, L., Wu, J., Jiang, X., Leike, J., Lowe, R.

Citations: 3,339

Year: 2022

Learning Transferable Visual Models From Natural Language Supervision

Authors: Radford, A., Kim, J.W., Hallacy, C., Krueger, G., Sutskever, I.

Citations: 9,325

Year: 2021

Language models are few-shot learners

Authors: Brown, T.B., Mann, B., Ryder, N., Sutskever, I., Amodei, D.

Citations: 15,410

Year: 2020

Recursive routing networks: Learning to compose modules for language understanding

Authors: Cases, I., Rosenbaum, C., Riemer, M., Potts, C., Karttunen, L.

Citations: 11

Year: 2019