Rolf Gemperli was born on September 15, 1951, in the city of São Paulo in the State of São Paulo, to Werner Gemperli and Marie Gemperli. After concluding High School, he enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (FMUSP) and graduated in 1976. He would dedicate his entire career to the University of São Paulo (USP), pursuing a Medical Residency in General Surgery at its Hospital das Clínicas (HC) university hospital complex from 1977 to 1978, and later, in the field of Plastic Surgery between 1979 and 1981, during which time Professor Orlando Ludovici took him under his wing.
In 1981, Gemperli was appointed as a Teaching Assistant for the Experimental Surgery subject taught at the FMUSP Department of Experimental Surgery, under the helm of Professor Sérgio Mies. This signaled the beginning of a long and fruitful research career. He also concurrently served as a Plastic Surgeon there.
The young physician and professor would then proceed to earn a Ph.D., after successfully defending a final thesis titled “A Study on the Survival of Island Flaps after Serial Ligation of Different Elements of the Vascular Pedicle – An Experimental Study in Rats” in 1985, when he additionally began working as an Assistant Professor at that same Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (FMUSP).
In 1993, Dr. Gemperli was granted the title of Specialist Member of the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery (SBCP). Before that, however, more specifically from 1983 to 1993, he headed the Biology of Skin and Melanoma Group at HCFMUSP’s Division of Plastic Surgery. During this time, the surgeon worked extensively with tissue expanders. In 1990, he joined the Plastic Surgery Research Council, an organization focused on research in the field, whereas two years later, he penned an important joint paper with Professor Izar Neves, who at the time was a faculty member at Penn State University in the United States, on the topic of orbital expansion.
Also in 1992, the esteemed surgeon and scholar was awarded the prestigious title of Associate Professor at the University of São Paulo’s Faculty of Medicine (FMUSP), after submitting and successfully defending a thesis titled “The Use of Tissue Expanders in Skin Reconstruction Surgery of the Lower Limb.”
In addition, he led the Body Contouring and Breast Reconstruction Group at the HCFMUSP Division of Plastic Surgery, while in 2013, he rose to the rank of Head of the Plastic Surgery subject taught at that same institution. Two years later, Dr. Gemperli would be appointed as a Full Professor of the college’s Plastic Surgery and Burns subject.
Dr. Gemperli was also extremely busy with his academic activities at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, participating as a Member of numerous department boards as well as in teaching and researching committees. In 1993, he established the Brazilian Association of Plastic Surgery Leagues (ABLCP), and from 2011 to 2013, served as Coordinator of the FMUSP Postgraduate Program in Clinical Surgery. Later on, from 2018 to 2021, he was designated as Head of the Division of Surgery at the same institution.
Furthermore, the surgeon attended a host of congresses and programs, lecturing in conferences and discussing self-authored papers in Brazilian as well as in foreign events.
Throughout his prolific career, Dr. Gemperli has supervised thirty-five undergraduate research projects, thirty-six internships for both Brazilian and foreign students, eight Master’s final papers, and twelve doctoral final theses. He is currently mentoring four Ph.D. candidates and has been invited to participate in numerous Master’s as well as doctoral examination boards committees, in addition to public admissions exams both at the University of São Paulo (USP) and in other institutions.
Furthermore, the surgeon has composed boards tasked with assessing twenty-one candidates for the Associate Professor.
Dr. Gemperli works in four areas of research and is currently involved in eight projects. He has also successfully secured significant funding from major Brazilian financial aid organizations, such as the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq); São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP); private organizations; and government-awarded funding. He conducts research activities in multidisciplinary fields, but works mostly in the topic of xenotransplantation.
As of today, the acclaimed doctor has published four books and several book chapters, of which seventy-two chapters were launched in Brazil and eighteen were published abroad. His scientific output holds substantial significance, so much so that the PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases feature 205 of his scientific papers catalogued in both Brazilian and international journals. These publications have been cited 1,776 times, resulting in an h-index of 36.
One of his articles on breast reduction in conservative breast cancer surgeries, published in Plast Reconstr Surg 2006;117(4), has garnered a total of 106 mentions. Dr. Gemperli is additionally a Member of the editorial board of numerous domestic and international medical journals and reviews papers for several major journals worldwide.
Dr. Gemperli has presented and discussed 136 papers at conferences held in Brazil and twenty-two hosted overseas and given multiple lectures in both medical and non-medical events.
In addition, he belongs to multiple domestic and international medical societies related to his field of expertise and has contributed significantly to managing several of them.
On May 18, 2003, Dr. Rolf Gemperli was elected a Full Member of the Academia Nacional de Medicina (National Academy of Medicine – ANM), following his submission of an essay entitled “The Role of Multidisciplinary Services in the Treatment of Complex Wounds in Public Quaternary Care Facilities.” His inauguration ceremony was held on July 21, 2023, during which time he was greeted by fellow Academy Member José Horácio Costa Aboudib Jr.
Academic number: 680
Chair: 35
Member: Holder
Section: Surgery
Election: 18/05/2023
Inauguration: 21/07/2023
President: Francisco José Barcellos Sampaio
Greeted by: José Horácio Costa Aboudib Jr.
Academic number: 680
Chair: 35
Member: Holder
Section: Surgery
Election: 18/05/2023
Inauguration: 21/07/2023
President: Francisco José Barcellos Sampaio
Greeted by: José Horácio Costa Aboudib Jr.
Rolf Gemperli was born on September 15, 1951, in the city of São Paulo in the State of São Paulo, to Werner Gemperli and Marie Gemperli. After concluding High School, he enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (FMUSP) and graduated in 1976. He would dedicate his entire career to the University of São Paulo (USP), pursuing a Medical Residency in General Surgery at its Hospital das Clínicas (HC) university hospital complex from 1977 to 1978, and later, in the field of Plastic Surgery between 1979 and 1981, during which time Professor Orlando Ludovici took him under his wing.
In 1981, Gemperli was appointed as a Teaching Assistant for the Experimental Surgery subject taught at the FMUSP Department of Experimental Surgery, under the helm of Professor Sérgio Mies. This signaled the beginning of a long and fruitful research career. He also concurrently served as a Plastic Surgeon there.
The young physician and professor would then proceed to earn a Ph.D., after successfully defending a final thesis titled “A Study on the Survival of Island Flaps after Serial Ligation of Different Elements of the Vascular Pedicle – An Experimental Study in Rats” in 1985, when he additionally began working as an Assistant Professor at that same Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (FMUSP).
In 1993, Dr. Gemperli was granted the title of Specialist Member of the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery (SBCP). Before that, however, more specifically from 1983 to 1993, he headed the Biology of Skin and Melanoma Group at HCFMUSP’s Division of Plastic Surgery. During this time, the surgeon worked extensively with tissue expanders. In 1990, he joined the Plastic Surgery Research Council, an organization focused on research in the field, whereas two years later, he penned an important joint paper with Professor Izar Neves, who at the time was a faculty member at Penn State University in the United States, on the topic of orbital expansion.
Also in 1992, the esteemed surgeon and scholar was awarded the prestigious title of Associate Professor at the University of São Paulo’s Faculty of Medicine (FMUSP), after submitting and successfully defending a thesis titled “The Use of Tissue Expanders in Skin Reconstruction Surgery of the Lower Limb.”
In addition, he led the Body Contouring and Breast Reconstruction Group at the HCFMUSP Division of Plastic Surgery, while in 2013, he rose to the rank of Head of the Plastic Surgery subject taught at that same institution. Two years later, Dr. Gemperli would be appointed as a Full Professor of the college’s Plastic Surgery and Burns subject.
Dr. Gemperli was also extremely busy with his academic activities at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, participating as a Member of numerous department boards as well as in teaching and researching committees. In 1993, he established the Brazilian Association of Plastic Surgery Leagues (ABLCP), and from 2011 to 2013, served as Coordinator of the FMUSP Postgraduate Program in Clinical Surgery. Later on, from 2018 to 2021, he was designated as Head of the Division of Surgery at the same institution.
Furthermore, the surgeon attended a host of congresses and programs, lecturing in conferences and discussing self-authored papers in Brazilian as well as in foreign events.
Throughout his prolific career, Dr. Gemperli has supervised thirty-five undergraduate research projects, thirty-six internships for both Brazilian and foreign students, eight Master’s final papers, and twelve doctoral final theses. He is currently mentoring four Ph.D. candidates and has been invited to participate in numerous Master’s as well as doctoral examination boards committees, in addition to public admissions exams both at the University of São Paulo (USP) and in other institutions.
Furthermore, the surgeon has composed boards tasked with assessing twenty-one candidates for the Associate Professor.
Dr. Gemperli works in four areas of research and is currently involved in eight projects. He has also successfully secured significant funding from major Brazilian financial aid organizations, such as the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq); São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP); private organizations; and government-awarded funding. He conducts research activities in multidisciplinary fields, but works mostly in the topic of xenotransplantation.
As of today, the acclaimed doctor has published four books and several book chapters, of which seventy-two chapters were launched in Brazil and eighteen were published abroad. His scientific output holds substantial significance, so much so that the PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases feature 205 of his scientific papers catalogued in both Brazilian and international journals. These publications have been cited 1,776 times, resulting in an h-index of 36.
One of his articles on breast reduction in conservative breast cancer surgeries, published in Plast Reconstr Surg 2006;117(4), has garnered a total of 106 mentions. Dr. Gemperli is additionally a Member of the editorial board of numerous domestic and international medical journals and reviews papers for several major journals worldwide.
Dr. Gemperli has presented and discussed 136 papers at conferences held in Brazil and twenty-two hosted overseas and given multiple lectures in both medical and non-medical events.
In addition, he belongs to multiple domestic and international medical societies related to his field of expertise and has contributed significantly to managing several of them.
On May 18, 2003, Dr. Rolf Gemperli was elected a Full Member of the Academia Nacional de Medicina (National Academy of Medicine – ANM), following his submission of an essay entitled “The Role of Multidisciplinary Services in the Treatment of Complex Wounds in Public Quaternary Care Facilities.” His inauguration ceremony was held on July 21, 2023, during which time he was greeted by fellow Academy Member José Horácio Costa Aboudib Jr.