Dimitri Poddighe, MD, Prof.
College of Health Sciences
Program Director
Pediatrics Residency Program
Biography
Dr. Dimitri Poddighe graduated cum laude in 2003 from the School of Medicine, University of Pavia (Italy). During this time, he was also a student at Collegio Ghislieri, a prestigious and historic residential college in Pavia dedicated to outstanding students.
He earned his Specialization in Pediatrics (Level 8 according to the EQF framework) cum laude in 2008 from the University of Pavia, after defending his thesis in Pediatric Immunology titled: “Immunodeficiency and Autoimmunity: The Double-Edged Sword of Immune Dysregulation.”
From 2007 to 2009, he completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Immunology at Boston Children’s Hospital – Harvard University (Massachusetts, USA). After returning to Italy, he held several pediatrician positions in both academic and non-academic hospitals across the Lombardy region, including Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo (Pavia), affiliated with the University of Pavia. He also served as an Academic Expert (Cultore della Materia) in Pediatrics from 2015 to 2017.
Throughout his professional career, Dr. Poddighe also completed three Level II Academic Master’s programs:
- Pediatric Hematology, University “La Sapienza” of Rome (2010–2011);
- Pediatric Immunopathology, University of Pavia (2011–2012);
- Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, University “La Sapienza” of Rome (2016–2017).
Additionally, during the academic year 2015–2016, he participated in a specialization program in Pediatric Rheumatology at the G. Pini Institute (Milan, Italy).
In 2018, Dr. Poddighe joined the Nazarbayev University School of Medicine (NUSOM) as an Assistant Professor. In 2020, he was promoted to Associate Professor and appointed Director of the Department of Clinical Academic Affairs at the University Medical Center (UMC) in Astana. He also served as Program Director of the NUSOM Pediatric Residency Program, which was launched in September 2019. During his tenure at NUSOM and UMC, he played a key role in the development and implementation of comprehensive pediatric training programs.
In September 2024, Dr. Dimitri Poddighe joined the College of Health Sciences, VinUniversity as a Full Professor of Pediatrics, Academic Chair of Pediatrics, and Program Director of the Pediatric Residency Program.
His research interests focus primarily on Pediatric Immunology, Rheumatology, and Gastroenterology, with particular attention to allergic diseases, immune dysregulation disorders, and autoimmune conditions. In Kazakhstan, he has led three research projects as Principal Investigator, and contributed to several others as Co-Investigator or Collaborator.
To date, Dr. Poddighe is the author of 147 scientific publications indexed in Scopus, with an h-index of 29. In 2022, he received the Scopus Awards Kazakhstan 2022 in recognition of his scientific contributions in Immunology and Microbiology. In the same year, he was honored with the Order of the Star of Italy (“Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia”), conferred by the President of the Italian Republic upon the recommendation of the Italian Ambassador to Kazakhstan, in recognition of his role in promoting cooperation between Italian and Kazakh institutions in healthcare and medical education.
In 2023, he was appointed as a Member of the “Life and Health Sciences Committee” of the National Scientific Council under the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan.
Pediatrics
• Clinical Immunology
• Pediatric Rheumatology
• Pediatric Gastroenterology
• Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
• Celiac Disease
• Childhood Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (cSLE)
• Behçet’s Disease
• Immune-Mediated Myopathies
• Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
• Unconventional T Cells
• Basophils
• Immune-Mediated Manifestations of Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Pediatrics
• Pediatrics – Postgraduate Medical Education
• General Pediatrics
• Pediatric Immunology and Allergy
• Pediatric Rheumatology
• Pediatric Gastroenterology
1. GBD 2021 Lower Respiratory Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Collaborators (including Poddighe D). Global, regional, and national incidence and mortality burden of non-COVID-19 lower respiratory infections and aetiologies, 1990-2021: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet Infect Dis. 2024;24(9):974-1002.
2. Poddighe D, Dossybayeva K, Kozhakhmetov S, Rozenson R, Assylbekova M. Double-Negative T (DNT) Cells in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Biomedicines. 2024;12(1):166.
3. GBD 2019 Child and Adolescent Communicable Disease Collaborators (including Poddighe D). The unfinished agenda of communicable diseases among children and adolescents before the COVID-19 pandemic, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet. 2023; 402(10398):313-335.
4. Abdukhakimova D, Dossybayeva K, Almukhamedova Z, Mukusheva Z, Assylbekova M, Zhangabylova D, Nurgaliyeva K, Boluspayeva N, Kulmangabetova K, Hasanova L, Tanko M, Poddighe D. Serum immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels in children affected with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. Heliyon. 2023;9(7):e17479.
5. Dossybayeva K, Bexeitov Y, Mukusheva Z, Almukhamedova Z, Assylbekova M, Abdukhakimova D, Rakhimzhanova M, Poddighe D. Analysis of Peripheral Blood Basophils in Pediatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Diagnostics (Basel). 2022;12(7):1701.
6. Poddighe D, Romano M, Dossybayeva K, Abdukhakimova D, Galiyeva D, Demirkaya E. Celiac Disease in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis and Other Pediatric Rheumatic Disorders. J Clin Med. 2022;11(4):1089.
7. Poddighe D, Demirkaya E, Sazonov V, Romano M. Mycoplasma pneumoniae Infections and Primary Immune Deficiencies. Int J Clin Pract. 2022;2022:6343818.
8. Bekbossynova M, Akhmaltdinova L, Dossybayeva K, Tauekelova A, Smagulova Z, Tsechoeva T, Turebayeva G, Sailybayeva A, Kalila Z, Mirashirova T, Muratov T, Poddighe D. Central and effector memory T cells in peripheral blood of patients with interstitial pneumonia: preliminary clues from a COVID-19 study. Respir Res. 2022;23(1):278
9. Abdirakhmanova A, Sazonov V, Mukusheva Z, Assylbekova M, Abdukhakimova D, Poddighe D. Macrophage Activation Syndrome in Pediatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Systematic Review of the Diagnostic Aspects. Front Med (Lausanne). 2021;8:681875.
10. Poddighe D, Turganbekova A, Mukusheva Z, Abdirakhmanova A, Assylbekova M, Abdrakhmanova S. HLA-B*51 allelic and carrier frequency in Kazakhstan: insights into Behçet’s disease prevalence in Central Asia. Intern Emerg Med. 2021;16(2):325-331.
11. Poddighe D, Turganbekova A, Baymukasheva D, Saduakas Z, Zhanzakova Z, Abdrakhmanova S. Genetic predisposition to celiac disease in Kazakhstan: Potential impact on the clinical practice in Central Asia. PLoS One. 2020;15(1):e0226546.
12. Poddighe D. Macrolide Resistance and Longer-Term Assessment of Azithromycin in MORDOR I. N Engl J Med. 2019;381(22):2184.
13. Poddighe D. Extra-pulmonary diseases related to Mycoplasma pneumoniae in children: recent insights into the pathogenesis. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2018;30(4):380-387.
14. Poddighe D, Bonomelli I, Giardinetti S, Nedbal M, Bruni P. Paediatric Dengue Fever diagnosed through parents’ epidemiologic report and preventive strategy during the acute phase of infection. J Travel Med. 2016;23(1):tav013.
15. Poddighe D, Cavagna L, Brazzelli V, Bruni P, Marseglia GL. A hyper-ferritinemia syndrome evolving in recurrent macrophage activation syndrome, as an onset of amyopathic juvenile dermatomyositis: a challenging clinical case in light of the current diagnostic criteria. Autoimmun Rev. 2014 Nov;13(11):1142-8.
- 2003: Doctor of Medicine (MD), University of Pavia (Università degli Studi di Pavia), Italy
- 2008: Specialization in Pediatrics (EQF Level 8), University of Pavia (Università degli Studi di Pavia), Italy
- 2012: Level II Academic Master’s in Pediatric Hematology, University “La Sapienza” of Rome (Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”), Italy
- 2013: Level II Academic Master’s in Pediatric Immunopathology, University of Pavia (Università degli Studi di Pavia), Italy
- 2018: Level II Academic Master’s in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, University “La Sapienza” of Rome (Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”), Italy
- 2021: Listed among the top researchers of Nazarbayev University based on scientific publications in 2021 (ranked within the top 2% of scientists worldwide according to the bibliometric ranking by Stanford University) – Overall rank: 122,764.
- 2022: Awarded the Order of the Star of Italy (Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia) by the President of the Italian Republic, upon the recommendation of the Italian Ambassador to Kazakhstan, in recognition of his role in fostering collaboration between Italian and Kazakh institutions in healthcare and medical education.
- 2022: Received the Scopus Awards Kazakhstan 2022, honoring his outstanding scientific contributions in Immunology and Microbiology.
- 2022: Again listed among the world’s top researchers based on scientific publications in 2022 (ranked within the top 2% of scientists worldwide according to the bibliometric ranking by Stanford University) – Overall rank: 66,941.
