Roberto Galizi

Biography

Roberto was awarded a Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Technologies at the University of Perugia (Italy) and a Master’s Degree in Industrial Biotechnology from the University of Urbino 'Carlo Bo' (Italy). His research activity started as Research Assistant at the University of Perugia (Italy) in 2006, investigating the adaptive responses and the in vivo dynamics of apicomplexan parasites (cause of toxoplasmosis and malaria) in mouse models. After starting his PhD in 2011, Roberto moved to the Imperial College London as visiting student and subsequently as Marie Curie Fellow (2014-16) and Research Associate (2016-17), working on the development of new genetic technologies for the suppression of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. In 2017, he was appointed as Senior Research Fellow to lead a research team within his former laboratory at Imperial College to engineer new molecular tools to mitigate undesirable effects of CRISPR genetic editing in insects. Roberto joined Keele University in January 2020 where he supports teaching in molecular biology, genetic engineering and infectious diseases, and has established a research laboratory working on innovative solutions to combat vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, which are still causing several thousands of deaths every year mostly in underdeveloped countries.

Research and scholarship

The Galizi lab at Keele is currently leading and engaged in multiple research projects and collaborations with scientists and research centres from several European, US and African countries. Their research combines molecular and synthetic biology, transcriptomics, functional genetics and genetic engineering to investigate insect reproduction and generate novel solutions for the monitoring and eradication of pests and vector-borne diseases. The Galizi lab is also leading the research training of scientists from the USTTB (Mali) as part of a capacity building programme aiming to develop and establish the African Centre for Excellence in Molecular Engineering (ACEME) in Bamako, which will provide a first of its kind research laboratory and complementary training centre for African researchers and students in Mali.

Published work:

Teaching

LSC-30051 Case Studies in Biotechnology
LSC 40119 Advanced Research Topics in Infectious Diseases (Module Manager)
MTE-40025 Molecular Techniques Applications in Tissue Engineering
PTY-20020 Health and the Environment