Mauro Giacca, MD, PhD, is Professor of Cardiovascular Sciences at the School of Cardiovascular Medicine & Sciences, King’s College London. Until 2019, he has served as the Director-General of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), an organization in the United Nations system based in Italy. From 2005, he is a Full Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Trieste. From 2000-04, he has been Professor of Molecular Biology and Director of the Molecular Biology Laboratory at Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, one of the leading academic institutions in Italy.
He is the President of the International Society for Heart Research (ISHR) European Section and serves on the scientific boards of numerous academic institutions and biotech companies internationally. Since 2021, he is an elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the United Kingdom.
He received his Degree in Medicine from the University of Trieste, Italy in 1984 and his PhD in Microbiology and Virology from the University of Genoa, Italy in 1989.
A medical doctor by training, he is considered an expert in the generation of viral vectors for cardiovascular applications and the development of novel biologics for cardiac repair and regeneration in patients with myocardial infarction and heart failure. He has published over 370 papers in international journals, in addition to several reviews and chapters in books and university textbooks. His research has been founded by numerous international grants, including two consecutive ERC Advanced Investigator grants, and a British Heart Foundation Programme Grant.
Starting from March 2020, he has redeployed part of the research of his group to elucidate the mechanisms that regulate SARS-CoV-2 infection. These studies have led to the discovery of a new mechanism that regulate the coronavirus Spike protein function and is involved in COVID-19 pathogenesis.