Clinical Immunology and Vaccinology

Head of Research Unit 
Paolo Palma

The Research Unit manages and optimizes a systems biology platform to identify new biomarkers able to predict the response to new immunomodulatory therapies, vaccinations and infections such as Sars-Cov2. 

The main purpose of this activity is to modulate and personalize therapeutic interventions in groups of patients with chronic diseases. 

The Research Unit is responsible for analyzing the molecular mechanisms underlying the post-vaccination immune response, with the aim of personalizing vaccination interventions. 

The studies in which the working group is engaged also aim to implement the knowledge on the immunological status of immunocompromised patients through cellular and molecular biology techniques and to identify new correlates of immunological protection in subjects most susceptible to those infectious diseases that can be prevented with vaccination. 

Lastly, the Unit contributes to the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with immunological diseases, studying the efficacy of new immunomodulatory drugs. 

The team is leading an international group of immunologists in the study of interventions aimed at identifying new immunotherapy strategies against HIV and developing an international multi-center study protocol to evaluate the efficacy of a therapeutic HIV vaccine. 

The Unit group is made up of multi-specialist medical personnel, molecular biologists and biotechnologists expert in multi omics technologies, bioinformatics, data scientists, bioengineers, technicians and lab and project managers. 

The variety of figures present favors the enrichment and quality of the research carried out, both from a clinical and biological, technological and regulatory point of view.