Vito M. Campese, M.D. is a Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Co-Director of the USC/UKRO Kidney Research Center, and a former chair of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. In addition to serving as a UKRO board member, he is Chairman of UKRO’s Medical Scientific Advisory Board.
A native of Bariletta Italy, he received his medical degree, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Bari. His internship, residency and fellowship in nephrology were completed at the Policlinico in Bari.
In 1974, Dr. Campese came to the United States to do a fellowship in hypertension at the USC (Keck) School of Medicine.
Dr. Campese has had a distinguished career at USC and the Keck School of Medicine. His first position, in 1975, was as an Assistant Professor on the Hypertension Service. He was then made an Assistant Professor in the Division of Nephrology before being elevated to an Associate Professor. He has been a full professor since 1985.
Dr. Campese is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, a Diplomate of the American Board of Nephrology, and a Specialist on Hypertension. He is also a member of the American Society of Nephrology, the International Society of Nephrology, the American Society of Hypertension and a Honorary Member of the Italian Society of Nephrology.
His research interests include such topics as salt sensitivity in hypertension, hypertension and renal failure, cytokines and the neurogenic control of blood pressure, the role of the sympathetic nervous system in primary hypertension, and Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Origin.
Dr. Campese’s editorial experience is extensive. He served as Assistant Editor of the American Journal of Nephrology from 1980 until 2002, and was on the Editorial Board of Hypertension, Nephrology Dialysis and Transplantation, Clinical Nephrology and the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. And the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. He now sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Hypertension. He has served as a reviewer for over 25 peer-reviewed medical journals including Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, Circulation, and Hypertension and the Journal of Hypertension. Dr. Campese has authored over 320 scientific articles, and lectured, extensively, worldwide.
In 2007, Dr. Campese founded ISSNAF (Italian Scientists and Scholars in North America Foundation) and has been the President until 2019. Currently, he chairs the ISSNAF Honorary Board of Directors.
In December of 2018, Dr. Campese was awarded the title of Grand Officer of the Ordine della Stella d’Italia (Order of the Star of Italy) by the President of Italy, in recognition of his work on preservation and promotion of national heritage abroad, promoting friendly relations and cooperation between the USA and Italy.
In 2020, Dr. Campese authored “A Thousand Quotes and Anecdotes that May Improve Your Life,” and in 2022 he authored “The World as Seen by a Doctor.”