Among the Spallanzani scientists involved in the Coronavirus emergency, the Professors of UniCamillus

Rome, 2020/02/03 – Italy among the first countries to have isolated Coronavirus by an excellent medical team from the Spallanzani Hospital in Rome. The team leader is Maria Rosaria Capobianchi, Extraordinary Professor of Molecular Biology in the Degree Course in Medicine and Surgery at UniCamillus, who underlines that it is the “result of teamwork, of the competence and passion of virologists of this institute, for years at the forefront of all health emergencies in our country”.

To date, 12.000 individuals have been affected by the pathogen which is causing one of the most serious epidemics in recent years. Starting from the Chinese city of Wuhan, Coronavirus is spreading to other countries generating a global health crisis which, however, has started to encounter possible positive scenarios.

In fact, it is “a discovery in defense of health – it is appropriate to say it – of all humanity”, as highlighted by Gianni Profita, Rector of UniCamillus“, a University that has the specific mission of looking at diseases that mainly affect risky areas and least defended in the world.

Virus isolation presents numerous potentials: sequencing the bacterium and comparing it with the strains in order to analyze any mutations, testing the effectiveness of known antiviral molecules and enhancing any weak points of the bacterium in order to allow the development of therapeutic strategies.

Therefore, an exceptional achievement for Italian medicine that confirms to be, once again, among the best in the world, and UniCamillus University, of which some Extraordinary Professors are Spallanzani scientists engaged in the management of the Coronavirus emergency. Between these are Giuseppe Ippolito, Scientific Director of the Institute and Professor of Infectious Diseases; Emanuele Nicastri, Director of the Division of High Intensity of Infectious Diseases and Professor of Pharmacology; Nicola Petrosillo, Director of the Clinical and Research Department in Infectious Diseases and Director of the Systemic Infections Complex Operating Unit and Professor at the University of General and Applied Hygiene.