Zoonosis laboratory

Research areas:

1. Development of diagnostic, point-of-care (POC) methods for the rapid identification of zoonotic agents.
2. Epidemiological studies and the evaluation of biological risk at the interface of man/animal/environment.

Research projects:

1. Technical development of POC molecular diagnostics for the identification of zoonotic agents responsible for skin diseases in humans (project in collaboration with UO Dermatologia and UO of Microbiologia).
2. Development of low-cost, ‘pen-side’ methods for the identification of tick-borne diseases (TBD).
3. Development of biomolecular methods for the identification of Leptospira spp in water.
4. “COVID-19: evolutionary trajectories of SARS-cov-2 and investigation into the role of animals”.
5. Evaluation of the functionality of electrochemical systems for estimating the neutralizing power of antibodies against animal and human viruses in real time.

Instrumentation available:

• PROMEGA MAXWELL MDx extractor
• Thermal cycler Applied Biosystems QUANTSTUDIO 1
• Genie® III (Optigene): portable instrument for LAMP (Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification) with two-channel, fluorescent detection system
• Freezer at -80°C

Collaborazioni

Alessandra Mistral De Pascali, PhD student.

Prof. Vittorio Sambri (DIMES)

Prof Stefania Varani (DIMES)

Prof. Tiziana Lazzarotto (DIMES)

Dr.ssa Catia Giovannini (DIMES)

Prof.ssa Piera Versura (DIMES);

Prof. Beatrice Fraboni (DIFA)

Dott. Francesco Decataldo (DIFA),

Dott.ssa Valeria Gaspari (U.O. Dermatologia, Sant’Orsola);

Prof. Alberto Alberti, Università di Sassari

Dott.ssa Maria Elena Turba, GENEFAST srl e Xenturion srl.

Dott. Antonio Lavazza, Istituto Zooprofilattico della Lombardia e dell’Emilia-Romagna

Dott Davide Lelli, Istituto Zooprofilattico della Lombardia e dell’Emilia-Romagna

Dott.sa Elisabetta Corraduzza, Istituto Zooprofilattico della Sardegna

Dr.ssa Annalisa Guercio, Istituto Zooprofilattico della Sicilia

Dr.ssa Giuseppa Purpari, Istituto Zooprofilattico della Sicilia

Prof. Victor Rutten, Utrecht University, NL

Prof. Anita Michel, University of Pretoria, SA

Centre of Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases, Lilongwe, Malawi