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Professor Pietro Valdastri began his academic career with a Laurea degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Pisa in 2001, followed by a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in 2006 under Prof. Paolo Dario. He served as Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna's BioRobotics Institute, focusing on implantable medical devices and surgical robotics.
In 2011, he joined Vanderbilt University as Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, with secondary appointments in Electrical Engineering and Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition. He founded the Science and Technologies Of Robotics in Medicine (STORM) Lab, specializing in medical capsule robots for gastrointestinal endoscopy and abdominal surgery.
Since 2016, Professor Valdastri has been Chair of Robotics and Autonomous Systems at Leeds, holding primary roles in Electronic and Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. He directs the STORM Lab and contributes to the Surgical Technologies Research Group.
His achievements include being a Royal Society Wolfson Research Fellow, Senior Member of IEEE, Editor for Medical and Rehabilitation Robotics at IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, and involvement in the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES) and International Society for Medical Innovation and Technology (iSMIT).
He co-founded WinMedical (now part of AB Medica), receiving awards like the ERC Consolidator Grant, NSF CAREER Award, and Best Paper Awards from conferences such as IEEE and ASME.