Roberto Amato

Dr. Roberto Amato is Head of Data Analysis and Translation at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, where he leads a team focused on genomic analysis of infectious diseases. His work bridges computational biology, epidemiology, and public health to address global health challenges, particularly in malaria and pandemic response.

His educational background includes:

• PhD in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics from the University of Naples "Federico II" (2012)
• Visiting student at the Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago
• MSc in Computer Science
• BSc in Computer Science

Dr. Amato specializes in understanding the evolutionary dynamics of infectious diseases through population genetics. His research blends theoretical and empirical approaches to investigate pathogen evolutionary dynamics, with particular emphasis on how human interventions influence these processes. He has made significant contributions to understanding antimalarial resistance evolution and has been instrumental in genomic surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic through his involvement with the COG-UK consortium.

His publication record demonstrates a consistent focus on malaria genomics and epidemiology, with increasing attention to SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic. His work spans fundamental research on parasite evolution, development of genomic surveillance tools, and direct application of genomic data to inform public health interventions.

Dr. Amato has held progressive research positions at the Sanger Institute since 2015, advancing from Staff Scientist to Senior Staff Scientist and ultimately to his current leadership role. Prior to this, he was a Research Associate in Statistical Genomics at the University of Oxford's Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics.

He is deeply involved in major international collaborative efforts including MalariaGEN and the COG-UK consortium, where his team's analyses of genomic data using cutting-edge methodologies have directly influenced surveillance activities and intervention strategies for global health organizations.