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Giorgio Palù, here is the curriculum vitae of the new president of the Medicines Agency (Aifa)

Giorgio Palù, here is the curriculum vitae of the new president of the Medicines Agency (Aifa)

Who is Giorgio Palù, new president of the Italian drug agency (Aifa). Curriculum, ideas and theses on Covid, vaccines and more

Giorgio Palù will be the new president of the Italian drug agency (Aifa).

The Conference of the Regions, following the resignation of Domenico Mantoan, who became the Dg of Agenas, proposed the name of the former Full Professor of Microbiology and Virology to the Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza.

Today the appointment will be ratified in the State-Regions conference.

The vice president of the conference of the regions Giovanni Toti wrote to the minister communicating the "unanimous agreement" on the assignment. Palù, 70, is a former Full Professor of Microbiology and Virology and former Director of Molecular Medicine at the University of Padua.

WHAT GIORGIO PALU 'THINKS OF COVID, VACCINES, LOCKDOWN AND MORE

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Curriculum vitae of Giorgio Palù

Full Professor of Microbiology and Virology
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery
University of Padua

Date and place of birth

05.01.1949 – Oderzo (TV)

Place of work

Department of Histology, Microbiology and Medical Biotechnology,
Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Padua,
Via A. Gabelli 63, 35121 PADOVA, Italy
Email: [email protected]

Education

Degree in Medicine and Surgery with full marks and honors (1973); State examination (1974); ECFMG (1976) (licensed to practice medicine in the United States); Postgraduate Diploma in Oncology (1976) and in General Pathology (1979) with full marks and honors.

Career

Internal doctor at the Universities of Trieste and Parma (1973-74)
Hospital Assistant in Medical Oncology, Hospital of Padua (1974-76)
Post Doctoral Fellow and Research Associate at the Jules Bordet Cancer Institute, Université Libre, Brussels (1975), the Chester Beatty Research Institute-Royal Marsden Hospital, Royal Cancer Institute, London University, UK (1976-79) and the Department of Pharmacology , Yale University, USA (1979-80)
Full Assistant in Microbiology, University of Parma (1980-82)
Associate Professor in Virology, University of Padua (1983-89)
I band Professor of Microbiology, University of Padua since 1989

Academic, teaching, welfare and management activities

Visiting professor at the Division of Virology, NIMR / MRC, London (1980, 1985, 1987); the Department of Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics, Yale University (1982, 1984, 1986); the Division of Human Retrovirology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School (1990-91). Professor of Virology, Microbiology, Gene Therapy, Microbial Biotechnology, Applied Microbiology, in degree courses of the Faculty of Sciences MMFFNN, Pharmacy, Medicine and Surgery and in numerous postgraduate schools. Coordinator of the Research Doctorates in Virology and Biomedicine and President of the Degree Courses in Health Biotechnology and Medical Biotechnology. Director of the Virology Service of the Padua Hospital since 1996 and of the Autonomous Operating Unit of Microbiology and Virology since January 2000. Director of the Microbiology Institute of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Padua from 1991 to 2000. Director of the Department of Histology, Microbiology and Medical Biotechnologies of the University of Padua from 2000 to 2002. Co-founder of the Interdepartmental Research Center on Innovative Biotechnologies of the University of Padua and member of the Council and of the Technical-Scientific Committee of the same center, 1992-1997 , 2002-2004. Board member and member of the CTS of the Venetonanotech Interuniversity Consortium, Galilei Science Park, Business Incubator of the University of Padua (2003). Director of the “Paduan center” of the Regional Laboratory for stem cells and cell and gene therapy (GMP – Regional Cell-Factory). Member of Faculty Commissions, University, Veneto Region, Ministry of Health-ISS – Expert of the Superior Health Council (2003 – 2005). Pro-Rector of the University of Padua for international relations and relations with foreign universities (2002 – 2004). Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Padua (since 2004). Adjunct Professor of Neurosciences, Temple University, Philadelphia (PA, USA, since 2007).

Affiliations and offices

American Society for Microbiology; Society for General Microbiology; European Society of Gene Therapy; American Society of Gene Therapy (co-chair, cancer gene therapy); Italian Society of General Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology (board); Italian League for the Fight against Viral Diseases (board); Italian Society of Microbiology (management); European Federation of Biotechnology (Italian representative); European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (scientific committee); International and Italian Herpes Management Forum (executive); Italian Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases (board); Italian Society of Virology-SIV (President); European Society for Virology (Deputy President); National Committee for Biosafety and Biotechnologies (CNBB – Industry and Training Working Group); National Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CCM – Permanent Scientific Committee); National Commission for the fight against AIDS (Presidential Committee and Scientific Commission); Scientific Panel European Center for Diseases Control (ECDC) Stockholm; Tissue Tech Consortium and ABO project (Technical-Scientific Committee); Ministry of Education, University and Research and Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Policies (Joint working group for biomedical research); Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Policies (National Research Commission and National Planning Commission); Expert of the Minister of Labor, Health and Social Policies.

Scientific experience

Author of about three hundred publications in journals surveyed on international biomedicine databases as well as monographs and volumes. The articles since 2004 correspond to 114 with a total Impact Factor (IF) equal to 539.604, average IF 4.733. The publications mainly concern topics of Microbiology and Clinical, Molecular and Applied Virology (biotechnology); Antimicrobial and antitumor chemotherapy; Medical and experimental oncology; development of cellular and molecular therapies as well as design of vectors for gene transfer, vaccinology and gene therapy in oncology, infectious diseases and in genetic diseases. Holder of patents and licenses for molecular diagnostics, production of anticancer drugs and viral vectors for gene therapy. Scientific consultant for pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology spin off companies. Referee of numerous international scientific journals; External examiner for the Ph.D. in Biochemistry (University of Kent), in Virology (University of London) and in Molecular Biology (University of Heidelberg); Research project evaluator for BIOMED 2, CNR, the National Institute of Health, the National Institute of Health, the Medical Research Council.

Scholarships and awards

Callerio Foundation (1973); British Council (1976, 1992); Medical Research Council and Leukaemia Research Foundation (1978); National Research Council (1980); New York Academy of Sciences (1981); Higher Institute of Health (1990); Third European Award on Gene Therapy (1995); Clemson University distinct scholar (1995); Gene Therapy Award for the first clinical trial of combined gene therapy of glioblastoma (1997); L. Pauling award for Molecular Medicine (1997); International Prize in Medicine Bruno da Longobucco (2005);

Editorial boards

Expert Opinion in Herpesviruses; Cancer Therapy; Gene Therapy and Molecular Biology; Tumor Targeting; Journal of NeuroVirology; Gene Therapy; Infectious Agents and Cancer; BMC Pharmacology.

Other international activity

I have organized 18 international congresses, I have been invited for lectures to 33 international congresses and I have held numerous seminars by invitation at foreign institutions.

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“Covid has a lethality, according to seroprevalence studies, between 0.3 and 0.6%. But with this relatively low lethality – well below that of its closest relatives, namely Sars, which was 10%, and MERS, 36% – this virus, even if it were artificial, is not destined to extinguish the genus. human. It is destined to circulate for years, perhaps for generations and we will find it again as the pandemic influenza viruses, which re-emerge every year with a seasonal pattern. But they progressively adapt to man because their replicative purpose is to persist in the organism that has become their natural reservoir ".

This is what virologist Giorgio Palù, one of the best-known Italian academics in the world scientific world in virology material, said in an interview with the Subsidiary .

Corriere della Sera called him "an undisputed authority in the field of virology, professor emeritus of the University of Padua and past-president of the Italian and European Society of Virology"

Palù also commented on the hypothesis of new lockdowns: «I am against it as a citizen because it would be a suicide for our economy; as a scientist because it would penalize the education of young people, who are our future, and as a doctor because it would mean that sick people, suffering from other pathologies, especially tumors, would not have access to treatment. All this in the face of a disease, Covid-19, which, all in all, has a low lethality. That is, it's not that deadly. We must put a stop to this hysteria, "said the Corsera.

Here are some of the recent interviews released by prof. Palù:

EXTRACT FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH ITALIAN AFFAIRS:

Professor Palù. are we wrong in managing the crisis?

“We know that it takes 100,000 to 1 million equivalent genomes to infect. It means concentrations of nucleic acid that are present in at least 1 million viral particles. We don't even know if that RNA is in a viral particle! The asymptomatic are not sick. This spectacularization, this infodemic that has developed is serious … Even the world has gone mad but in no place has it been managed as in Italy. "

He will have followed the diatribe between the scientists of the ' Great Barrington ' and those of ' The John Snow memorandum '. The former speak of managing Covid with herd immunity, the latter with generalized and zone lockdowns. Which path to follow?

“Herd immunity is achieved with the vaccine. At least 70% of the population needs to be vaccinated with our virus or it can be obtained naturally, if the infection meets the same percentage of people. The same thing that Boris Johnson said at the beginning misrepresenting Sir Chris Whitty, the government virologist of reference for the fight against Covid-19. If there is a vaccine or vaccines we could aim for herd immunity but it is not yet the case to talk about it. In some areas of the Bergamo area, 35% of the population circulated. The most accredited studies in Italy say, for example, that very little circulated in Veneto, in 1.5% of the population. And we have reached 6-7% of the population only for those exposed in hospitalization homes. In Lombardy it circulated at 10%. So there was relatively little circulation ”.

EXTRACT FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH CORRIERE DELLA SERA:

Infected: “It is certain that these people have been“ infected ”, that is, they have come into contact with the virus, but it is not certain that they are“ contagious ”, that is, that they can transmit the virus to others. They could do it if they had a high viral load, but at the moment, with the tests available, it is not possible to establish it in time to avoid infections ».

So, to summarize: I know that some people are positive for the swab, I know that they are asymptomatic, therefore not sick, I know, however, that in a certain percentage of cases (it is not possible to establish how large) they can infect others. And, therefore, how to behave, given that in Milan, for example, the possibility of tracing contacts has been declared bankrupt?

«We should take action if“ clusters ”are identified (translation: groupings, ed ): when, that is, the positive has come into close contact with other people in a work environment, at school or in the family. Then everyone should have swabs. "

So, knowing the daily data, as per the bulletins, on infections / cases / positives is not ultimately useful?

«What really matters is knowing how many people arrive in intensive care: it is this number that gives the real dimension of the gravity of the situation. In any case, this virus has a relatively low lethality, it can kill, but it is not the plague ».

What do you attribute the current surge in cases to?

“Certainly at the reopening of the schools. The problem is not the school itself, but the public transport on which eight million students have begun to travel. Keeping schools open is, however, essential ».


This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/giorgio-palu-ecco-il-curriculum-del-nuovo-dellagenzia-italiana-del-farmaco-aifa/ on Thu, 03 Dec 2020 11:00:04 +0000.