David Modiano

University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Rome, Italy

David Modiano is a MalariaGEN Investigator and Professor of Parasitology, Department of Public Health Sciences, "La Sapienza" University. He received his early training at the Institute of Parasitology, "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy (Prof. Mario Coluzzi). He has an MD degree and a PhD in Microbiology and Epidemiology. 

Professor Modiano and his team have been studying the genetic epidemiology of susceptibility/resistance to P. falciparum malaria and the pathogenesis and clinical features of severe disease for the past 15 years. These studies, based on complementary epidemiological, clinical and genetical approaches have been performed in collaboration with the Centre National de Formation et Recherche sur le Paludisme of Burkina Faso.

Comparative studies on the susceptibility to malaria among sympatric West African ethnic groups showed that the Fulani are more resistant to P. falciparum malaria and that this resistance is not linked to classical malaria resistance factors. Large-scale intraethnic case-control studies on severe malaria demonstrated the role of haemoglobin C in the susceptibility to the disease and explained the uni-epicentric geographic distribution of the C allele in West Africa. More recent investigations outlined the role of a functional deficit of CD25+CD4+ T-regulatory cells in the higher immune reactivity of Fulani.

David Modiano and his team (Valentina Mangano, Federica Verra, Germana Bancone, Pamela Avellino) in collaboration with CNRFP in Burkina Faso are contributing to Consortial Project 1, Consortial Project 2 and Consortial Project 3. More >>