c u r r i c u l u m v i t a e
Personal information
Name Marco Salvetti, MD
Address Neurology and Centre for Experimental Neurological Therapies, Sapienza University-S. Andrea Hospital, 1035 via di Grottarossa, 00189-Rome, ITALY
Telephone +39-06-33775994 – cell +39-3396600552
Fax +39-06-33775994
E-mail [email protected]
Nationality Italian
Date of birth March 29, 1962
Expertise
Clinical neurology with special attention to the follow-up and treatment of patients with multiple sclerosis.
Research activity on various aspects of potentially autoreactive immune
responses in multiple sclerosis: relevant autoantigens, fine specificity, molecular mimicry, role of pathogens.
He instituted the world largest twin registry in 1997. From then on,
epidemiological, gene expression and virological studies in twins with multiple sclerosis begun.
At present much of the studies are focused on the interaction between heritable and non-genetic factors in the etiology of multiple sclerosis. This information, combined with data from the in vitro screening of off-label activities of registered drugs (on oligodendrocyte precursors), is exploited for the design of exploratory clinical trials. These studies are carried out in the context of the clinical research activity of CENTERS, an institution devoted to nonprofit, phase II trials in multiple sclerosis and orphan neurological diseases.
Achievements
-Demonstration of the existence of true autoantigen (acetylcholine receptor)-specific T-lymphocytes in the healthy immune repertoire -First evidence of a T lymphocyte response to N-formylated peptides in humans
-Demonstration of the role of molecular mimicry in determining the immunodominance of T-lymphocyte epitopes
-Creation of the world's largest twin registry
-World's largest, population-based study on MS concordance and environmental risk factors in multiple sclerosis
-First repurposing clinical trials in multiple sclerosis
-Contributions to the understanding of viruses to the etiology of multiple sclerosis
-The above contributions to the study of the role of viruses in multiple sclerosis include the proposal of the “candidate interactome” approach for the analysis of genome-wide association studies and transcriptome-wide studies in multifactorial diseases
-Proposal of a mechanistic, stochastic model for the etiology and clinical course of multiple sclerosis
-The clinical research work led to the creation of the Centre for
Experimental Neurological Therapies (CENTERS), a Department Unit of the S. Andrea Hospital that is entirely devoted to proof-of-concept,
repurposing clinical trials in neurological diseases. We started this activity more that 10 years ago, well before the importance of this approach was recognized at the international level (see the recent institution of NCATS). -As a result of having been one of the first researchers who proposed and promoted the importance of repurposing, proof-of-concept trials in multiple sclerosis, Prof. Salvetti has been appointed as member of the International Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Collaborative (IPMSC) and Co-Chair of the IPMSC Meeting that was held in London on November 1-2, 2012.
This activity had an original impact also on teaching activity, leading to the institution of the first “Master in Methodologies for Research and
Development of new Therapies”. This was a very original and long-needed initiative (see Science 2005; 309: 721 - "No university teaches drug
discovery") and, in fact, during the first year of this Master, 9 out of 10 students found an employment right after the completion the course. Also as a result of this teaching activity, the MD/PhD Program-like initiatives of the Sapienza University ("Percorsi di Eccellenza") were instituted, Prof. Salvetti was appointed a Director of the Percorso di Eccellenza of the Faculty of Medicine and Psychology.
Among the activities of the above Master and MD/PhD Program Prof. SalvettiI organized a continuous “flow” of invited seminars given by Alessandro Aiuti, Giulio Cossu, George Ebers, Costantino Iadecola, Silvio Garattini, Fulvio Mavilio, Graziano Pesole, Antonio Pinna, Pier Paolo Pandolfi, Stephen Sawcer among others.
Of particular interest has been the organization of a Workshop entitled “If I were to start a scientific career today”, chaired by Sylvie Coyaud, where some of the above scientists discussed their personal approach to science and provided direct advice to the students of our Faculty.
Work experience & Honors
INSTITUTION DIVISION LOCATION POSITION FROM YEAR TO YEAR Sapienza University of Rome Chair of Neurology Faculty of Medicine Assistant Professor 1991 2000 Sapienza University of Rome Chair of Neurology Faculty of Medicine and Psychology Associate Professor 2000 present Sapienza University of Rome II Faculty of Medicine Director, Master in Methodologies for the research and development of new therapies 2005 2007 Sapienza University of Rome II Faculty of Medicine now Faculty of Medicine and Psychology Director, Percorso di Eccellenza (MD-PhD program-like iniziative) 2007 present S. Andrea Hospital Division of Neurology Head of the Department Unit, Centre for Experimental Neurological Therapies (CENTERS) 2002 present S. Andrea Hospital Member of the Institutional Review Board 2011 present
Italian Multiple Sclerosis Society Secretary of the Scientific Committee 1997 2004 Italian Multiple Sclerosis Society Member of the Scientific Committee 2008 2011 Italian Multiple Sclerosis Society Member of the Scientific Secretariat 2011 Present Sapienza University of Rome Member of the Scientific Board 2010 2011 AIFA (Italian Pharma Agency) Member of the Expert Panel for the Evaluation of the Independent Research on Drug 2011 Proposals 2011 2011 Multiple Sclerosis International Federation Member of the International Medical and Scientific Board 2009 present International Progressive MS Collaborativ e Member of the Steering Committee 2010 present Italian Multiple Sclerosis Society Member of the steering Committee of the COSMO Study 2009 present Progressi ve Multiple Sclerosis Alliance Co-Chairof the Peer Review Committee 2013 present
1999, First Rita Levi-Montalcini Prize for Research in Multiple Sclerosis 2008, Invited Lecture, Accademia Medica di Roma. Since then, member of the
Academy
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