Dr. Terranegra earned her MSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Siena, Italy, and her PhD in Molecular Medicine and Postgraduate Specialization Diploma in Food Sciences from the University of Milan, Italy.

Her research investigates the molecular determinants linking diet and nutritional status to pediatric complex diseases and reproductive health.

Since joining Sidra Medicine in 2014, Dr. Terranegra has led and collaborated on precision nutrition studies in diabetes, liver disease, nephrotic syndrome, IBD, asthma, and reproductive health. Key projects include the T1D-Diet study (“The triple interaction diet-microbiome-epigenome”), which examines diet–microbiome–epigenome interactions in pediatric T1DM and obesity-associated T1DM; the MASLD-RF study (“Impact of Ramadan Fasting on Hepatic Insulin Resistance in Paediatric Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease”), which investigates the impact of Ramadan fasting on pediatric liver steatosis; the PN-ART study (“Precision Nutrition in Assisted Reproductive Technologies”), which explores links between women’s nutritional and molecular profiles and ART outcomes; and the NutriWeMan study (“Nutrition for Weight Management”), which compares dietary and medication-based weight management while considering genetic, microbiome, and epigenetic factors.

Dr. Terranegra co-chaired the MENA Microbiome conferences 2024 and 2026, serves as Specialty Chief Editor of Frontiers in Nutrition Nutrigenomics, and is a board member of NuGO.

In addition to her role at Sidra Medicine, Dr. Annalisa is a Joint Assistant Professor at the College of Health and Life Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University and at the College of Health Sciences at Qatar University.

Before joining Sidra Medicine, Dr. Terranegra gained extensive experience in clinical nutrition, molecular biology, and genetics at the University of Milan, San Raffaele Hospital, and San Paolo Hospital in Milan, Italy (2001–2014). She also served as Assistant Professor in Nephrology and Dietetic Sciences and Technologies at the University of Milan (2007–2013) and Lecturer in the PhD Program in Molecular Medicine (2009–2011).

The PreNutri Lab investigates the role of food and nutrients in both adult and pediatric non-communicable diseases, among which obesity, pregnancy complications, infertility, cardiovascular disease, pediatric type 1 diabetes, fatty liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and nephrotic syndrome.

Through national and international collaborations, Dr. Terranegra lab conducts clinical and translational studies with a focus on the impact of diet on gut microbiota, epigenetic modifications, and gene–diet interactions. Her research applies advanced technologies such as whole genome sequencing of both human and microbial genomes, DNA methylation arrays, RNA-sequencing, and metabolomics, integrated with deep nutritional assessment, including BMI, body composition, dietary patterns, and nutrient profiling.