NICOLA MONTANO is Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Milan, Italy. He is currently Chairman of the Department of Clinical and Community Sciences at University of Milan and Director of the Division of Internal Medicine, Immunology and Allergology at Fondazione Ca’ Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan. He is head of the Cardiovascular Neural Control Lab.

His research interests are principally focused on the relationship between stress, sleep deprivation, autonomic nervous system (ANS), cardiovascular system and inflammation/immunity. He is recently leading experimental and clinical studies aimed to implement the use of non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation to counteract sympathetic overactivity and low-grade chronic inflammation in several physiological and disease conditions.

   He is member of the Italian Space Agency’s thematic table on Integrated Physiology as well as of the ESA’s “Stress and Immunity in Space” topical team.