Virginia Rivero
Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
Argentina
Virginia Rivero obtained her diploma in Biochemistry (1988) and a PhD in Chemical Sciences (1994) at the University of Córdoba, Argentina. At present, she is full Professor at the School of Chemical Science of the University of Córdoba and a Principal Researcher of CONICET at the Centre for Research in Clinical Biochemistry and Immunology (CIBICI). She is the leader of a research group at the CIBICI-CONICET, interested in the study of pathogenic and regulatory mechanisms underlying male genital tract inflammations. The main focus of her research for the last years has been the study of immunological alterations present in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) patients where the group demonstrated an inflammation state, in the absence of an invading infectious agent accompanied of specific autoimmune response to prostate antigens with a Th1 pattern and also alterations in semen quality, results that suggest that autoimmunity to prostate may have critical consequences in their fertility. Her group has also done extensive work regarding the development and characterization of different rodent models of experimental autoimmune prostatitis (EAP). In addition to focusing on autoimmune processes, Virginia Rivero studies the characteristics of Chlamydia trachomatis infection of male genital tract, its consequences on male fertility in both patient samples and animal models of infection.