February 11, 2023 International Day of Women and Girls in Science: Sara Montagnese Meet Sara Montagnese, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at University of Padova, Italy, Professor of Chronobiology at University of Surrey, UK, and member of our Inspiring and Writing Group.

In celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we want to raise awareness of the work of women in hepatology and inspire the next generation of budding scientists.

Sara has a long-standing clinical and research interest in hepatic encephalopathy – deterioration of brain function that occurs in patients with acute or chronic liver disease. Currently, her research focuses on understanding the implications of optimal timing in the management of liver disease. In particular, she studies sleep disorders in patients with cirrhosis.

In recent years, chronobiology – the day-night cycle that affects all living organisms – has gained recognition in health and disease. The contribution of our endogenous circadian pacemaker influences physiologic and behavioral processes including the sleep-wake cycle. Sara's research aims to develop tools for circadian rhythms assessment in hospitalized patients that could be applied to other areas of medicine in the future.

It was just the perfect timing for Sara to pursue a career in Medicine. “I started by chance as a medical student… and realized I enjoyed it so much!”, she says.

Sara is the past President of the International Society for Hepatic Encephalopathy and Nitrogen Metabolism (ISHEN) and a member of the Governing Boards of the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver (AISF) and the European Biological Rhythms Society (EBRS), and has recently been appointed member of the Inspiring and Writing Group at EF CLIF. She serves as Associate Editor and Special Section Editor (Snapshots) of the Journal of Hepatology, and Associate Editor of Frontiers in Physiology, Section Chronobiology.