DrIlaria Belluomo

Ilaria is currently Emerging Leader Fellow of the Epilepsy Research Institute UK and Research Fellow at the Surgery and Cancer Department. Her main interest is the analysis of volatile organic compounds in human breath as non-invasive diagnostic and monitoring technique for neurological disorders. 

She currently leads two clinical trials: the VIBES study, in collaboration with UCL (Volatile non-Invasive Biomarkers for Epileptic Seizures) aimed at developing a non-invasive test for epilepsy diagnosis and prediction of seizures, and the PANORAMA study (PArkinson’s Non-Invasive Volatile ORganic Compound Analysis and Microbiome Assessment) for the development of a non-invasive diagnostic test for Parkinson's disease. In addition, she leads several projects focused on improving and standardising analytical methods for measuring volatile organic compounds in human exhaled breath. Her research is supported by Epilepsy Research Institute UK, Medical Research Council (MRC), Rosetrees Trust, Wellcome Trust, Royal Society of Chemistry and Imperial College London.

She is part of the Culture and Engagement Committee of the Surgery and Cancer Department, since 2019. In 2022, together with other members of the committee, she created the Academic Women Association (AWA) at Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, aimed at building a solid network to favor women's career progression in academia.

Ilaria completed her Bachelor’s degree at the Federico II, University of Naples, and her Master’s degree in Medical Biotechnology at the Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy. She carried out her PhD project working between Italy (CRBA, Centre of Applied Biomedical Research, Bologna) and France (Neurocentre Magendie INSERM, Bordeaux), as part of the European PhD program Doctor Europaeus.