معرفی
Dr. Ilaria Russo is a Lecturer in Bioscience at the Keele University School of Medicine. Her roles combine teaching and research in medical microbiology, pharmacology, and infectious diseases. She leads research on Plasmodium cell biology, malaria pathogenesis, and antimalarial drug targets. She holds an honorary Adjunct Professorship at Washington University in St. Louis, USA.
Education: MSc in Pharmaceutical Chemistry (University of Padua), PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology (University of Padua). Postdoctoral training at Washington University, supported by NIH and ERC grants. She has pioneered studies on Plasmodium's secretory pathways and validated novel drug targets such as calpain and plasmepsin V.
Research Interests: Host-pathogen interactions, malaria parasite biology, vaccine development, and innovative in vitro models (e.g., BBB models, organoids). Her work bridges lab discoveries with field applications in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including diagnostic initiatives via the Fonte di Speranza Foundation.
- Key Achievements: Discovery of calpain and plasmepsin V as antimalarial targets, development of conditional knockdown techniques, and leadership in global health projects.
- Awards: ERC Reintegration Grant, Wellcome Trust Fellowship, and editorial roles in journals like Enliven: Immunology.
- Labs/Teams: Part of Keele's Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology (CAEP), collaborating with global networks including the Goldberg Lab (Washington University).
