Group Leader, Molecular Virology
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
Padriciano 99
34149 Trieste, Italy
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +39-040-3757384/85
Facilities:
Pathogenic Virus Manipulation (BL3)
Fluorescence Microscopy (FMCF)
Education
Faculty of Sciences, University of Padova, Italy, MSc, 1990
Member of the National College of Biologists of Italy, 1993
University of Kent at Canterbury, UK, PhD Biochemistry, 1994
Career History
Since 2024, Chair of the Biosecurity Working Group of the global Partnership of the G7 under the Italian Presidency
2020-2024, Coordinator of the PhD Programme of the ICGEB
Since 2023, Visiting Professor, Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Republic of Moldova
Since 2018, ICGEB Delegate to the BWC-UNODA
Since 2010, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Nova Gorica, Slovenia
Since 2005, Group Leader of the Molecular Virology Laboratory of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy.
2001-2004, Staff Scientist, ICGEB, Trieste, Italy.
1998-2001, Postdoc, ICGEB, Trieste, Italy.
1996, Visiting research fellow at the University of Kent at Canterbury (UK)
1994-1998, Postdoctoral fellow, Institute of Microbiology, University of Padova, Italy
1991-1994, PhD student in Biochemistry at the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK
1990 Visiting student at the Department of Genetics of the University of Leicester, UK.
1988-1991, Student and fellow at the Institute of Microbiology of the University of Padova, Italy.
Scientific Activity
I am essentially a virologist with research interests ranging from the investigation of the molecular basis of viral disease, to the study of the cellular response to viral infection, to the development of antiviral strategies and innovative diagnostic and surveillance tools in collaboration with industry and ICGEB Member States in low resource settings. I also coordinate the activities of the Centre related to global health in infectious diseases (including bio-containment facilities for pathogenic virus research), biosafety, biosecurity and pandemic preparedness.
Current research aims at identifying the key cellular and viral factors that control infection of viruses such as tick-borne encephalitis virus, West Nile virus, Dengue virus and Zika virus, and SARS-CoV-2 the viral agent of COVID-19. A wide array of molecular biology, biochemical and microscopy techniques are being implemented in the laboratory to investigate intra-cellular processes that control the virus life cycle for the identification of novel targets for antiviral drugs. Diagnosis and surveillance focus particularly on the development of point-of-care low-cost devices and full-genome sequencing pipelines. Currently I’m the scientific coordinator of Expandia, an initiative promoted by the Gates Foundation in sub-Saharan Africa aimed at improving community access to virus diagnostics and surveillance.
Teaching Activity
I am involved in the organization of the ICGEB Workshop on Human RNA Viruses and the ICGEB Practical Course of Fluorescent Microscopy. My teaching activity is focused on Virology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology and Functional Genomics through courses or seminars at various universities and institutions. I regularly train undergraduate and PhD students in the laboratory.
Other activities include:
Organiser of the biannual ICGEB Workshop on Human RNA Viruses (Trieste, 2008; New Delhi, 2010; Buenos Aires, 2012; Istanbul, 2014; Costa Rica 2016; Shanghai 2018).
Organiser of the Practical Course on Fluorescence Microscopy (Trieste, 2016, 2017, 2018, Delhi 2019, Trieste 2020, 2022).
Organiser of the Course on Biosecurity in collaboration with BWC ISU, UNODA, TWAS, IAP: Trieste 2023 and 2024.
Invited speaker and instructor at several international meetings, courses and conferences.
Invited reviewer of international scientific journals and funding agencies.
Panel Member for the award of PhD degrees at the: Open Univeristy, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, SISSA, Université Libre de Bruxelles, University of Nova Gorica, University College Dublin, Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy.Panel member for the “Habilitation de Diriger les Recherches” (HDR) CNRS, Montpellier, France.
Chair of the French AERES visiting committee established to assess the research activity of the research unit: “Fundamental Microbiology and Pathogenicity”, on 12 and 13 February 2015 in Bordeaux.
Committee Member of the COMSTECH-TWAS Joint Research Grants Programme of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) since 2009.
Member of the The Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Early Career Fellowship Selection Committee since 2019.
Member of the International Review Panel of the National Research Centre of Poland (Life Sciences) since 2019.
Scientific Expert of AREA Science Park and coordinator of WP2 of the PRP@CERIC Platform for Pandemic Preparedness since 2023.
Selected publications
Published more than 100 papers in international peer-reviewed scientific journals: Link to publications
Bonotto RM, Mitrovic A, Sosic I, Pamela Martinez-Orellana, Federica Dattola, Gobec S, Kos J, Marcello A. Cathepsin inhibitors Nitroxoline and its derivatives inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection. Antiviral Research, 2023 ( DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2023.105655).
Gioia U, Tavella S , Martínez-Orellana P, et al. SARS-CoV-2 infection induces DNA damage, through CHK1 degradation and impaired 53BP1 recruitment, and cellular senescence. Nature Cell Biology 2023. doi.org/10.1038/s41556-023-01096-x.
Baba MM, Bitew M, Fokam J, Lelo EA, et al. Diagnostic performance of colorimetric RT LAMP for the identification of SARS-CoV-2: a multicentre prospective clinical evaluation in sub-Saharan Africa. EClinicalMedicine. 2021 Aug 28;40:101101. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101101. eCollection 2021 Oct.
Rajasekharan S, Milan Bonotto R, Nascimento Alves L, Kazungu Y, et al. Inhibitors of protein glycosylation are active against the coronavirus Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Viruses 2021, 13(5), 808; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13050808
Marcello A, Civra A, Milan Bonotto R, Nascimento Alves L, Rajasekharan S, et al. The cholesterol metabolite 27-hydroxycholesterol inhibits SARS-CoV-2 and is markedly decreased in COVID-19 patients. Redox Biol. 2020 Aug 10; 36:101682. doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2020.101682.
Licastro D, Rajasekharan S, Dal Monego S, Segat L, D’Agaro P, Marcello A and the FVG Laboratory Group on COVID-19. Isolation and full-length genome characterization of SARS-CoV-2 from COVID-19 cases in Northern Italy. J Virol. 2020 May 18; 94 (11): e00543-20. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00543-20.
Caracciolo I, Mora Cardenas E, Aloise C, Carletti T, et al. Comprehensive response to Usutu virus following first isolation in blood donors in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region of Italy: development of recombinant NS1-based serology and sensitivity to antiviral drugs. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2020 Mar 30; 14 (3): e0008156. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008156.
Mora-Cárdenas E, Aloise C, Faoro V, et al. Comparative specificity and sensitivity of NS1-based serological assays for the detection of flavivirus immune response. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2020 Jan 29; 14 (1): e0008039. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008039.
Carletti T, Zakaria MK, Faoro V, Reale L, Kazungu Y, Licastro D, Marcello A. Viral priming of cell intrinsic innate antiviral signaling by the unfolded protein response. (2019) Nature Communications; 10(1):3889. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-11663-2.
Cannalire R, Tarantino D, Piorkowski G, Carletti T, et al. Broad spectrum anti-flavivirus pyridobenzothiazolones leading to less infective virions. (2019) Antiviral Res. Jul;167:6-12. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2019.03.004.
Sarracino A, Gharu L, Kula A, Pasternak AO, et al. Posttranscriptional Regulation of HIV-1 Gene Expression during Replication and Reactivation from Latency by Nuclear Matrix Protein MATR3. Mbio (2018) Nov 13;9(6). pii: e02158-18. doi: 10.1128/mBio.02158-18.
Çevik RE, Cesarec M, Filipe A, Licastro D, McLauchlan J and Marcello A. Hepatitis C virus NS5A targets the nucleosome assembly protein NAP1L1 to control the innate cellular response, J Virol. 2017 Jun 28. pii: JVI.00880-17. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00880-17.
Albornoz A, Carletti T, Corazza G, Marcello A. The stress granule component TIA-1 binds Tick-borne Encephalitis Virus RNA and is Recruited to Perinuclear Sites of Viral Replication to inhibit viral translation. J Virol Jun; 88(12):6611-22, 2014.
Miorin, L, Romero-Brey, I, Maiuri, P, Hoppe, S, Krijnse-Locker, J, Bartenschlager, R, Marcello, A. Three Dimensional Architecture of Tick-borne Encephalitis Virus Replication Sites and Trafficking of the Replicated RNA. J Virol 2013 Jun; 87 (11): 6469-81.
Maiuri P, Knezevich A, De Marco A, Mazza D, Kula A, McNally J, Marcello A. Fast transcription rates of RNA Polymerase II in human cells. EMBO Reports. 2011 Dec 1; 12 (12): 1280-5.
Dieudonné M, Maiuri P, Biancotto C, Knezevich A, Kula A, Lusic M, Marcello A. Transcriptional competence of the integrated HIV-1 provirus at the nuclear periphery. EMBO J. 2009 Aug 5; 28(15):2231-43.