Alfonso Siani, MD
Born in Salerno, Italy, on August, 2nd, 1956
Office address and contact information:
Dr. Alfonso Siani
Institute of Food Sciences, CNR
Via Roma 52 A/C - 83100 Avellino-Italy
Phone +39 0825 299353 ; Fax +39 0825 299423 ; mobile +39 3473447947
e-mail asiani@isa.cnr.it

Education:
· Medical Degree "Federico II" University of Naples Medical School, 1980, magna cum laude
· Diploma of the Post-Graduate School in Metabolic Diseases, "Federico II"University of Naples Medical School, 1983, magna cum laude
Current Position:
· Senior Research Scientist and Responsible of the Epidemiology and Population Genetics Unit, Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council of Italy, Avellino, Italy
Memberships:
· Working Group on Epidemiology and Prevention, European Society of Cardiology
· Italian Society of Arterial Hypertension
· Italian Society of Human Nutrition
Editorial activity:
· Co-Editor to "Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases" a peer-reviewed international journal
· Peer review activity for international scientific journals (Hypertension, Journal of Hypertension, American Journal of Hypertension, Preventive Medicine, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition).

Co-ordination activity and international collaborations:
Dr. Siani has experience in writing and managing scientific projects and is the co-ordinator for the Institute of Food Sciences of many international research project (see below). He acts as evaluator for the Sixth Research Framework Programme, European Commission (Thematic 1.5, Food Safety).


Past international collaborations:
· Changing the Mediterranean Diet-Cilento 82-:
· Italy-China collaborative project:
·
Ongoing international collaborations:
· The Olivetti Prospective Heart Study
· The Wandsworth Heart and Stroke Study
· The IMMIDIET Study: Dietary habit profile in European communities with different risk of myocardial infarction: the impact of migration as a model of gene-environment interaction. (Funded by EC: QLK1-2000-00100, Fifth Framework Programme, Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources-Key Action 1-Food, Nutrition and Health)
. The IDEFICS Project, Identification and prevention of Dietary- and lifestyle-induced
health EFfects In Children and infantS, Integrated Project, SIXTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME,
PRIORITY 5
FOOD QUALITY AND SAFETY, www.ideficsproject.eu
Contract no 016181-2, VI
Author of about 70 publications in peer reviewed journals and over 200 scientific meeting communications.
Keywords describing Dr. Siani expertise:
· Nutritional epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, obesity, metabolic syndrome, arterial hypertension, clinical studies, nutrigenomics

EPIDEMIOLOGY AND POPULATION GENETICS UNIT,
INSTITUTE OF FOOD SCIENCES, CNR
website : http://www.isa.cnr.it/web-new/ing/research/aree_01_01.htm

The current research activity of the Epidemiology and Population Genetics Unit of the Institute of Food Sciences includes:
· Survey of adult and children population samples in Southern Italy to identify environmental, nutritional and genetic factors related to the pathogenesis of obesity and metabolic syndrome. (The Olivetti Heart Study, The Bravo Project, The Arca Project).
· European integrated project IDEFICS focusing on diet- and lifestyle-related diseases in children (surveys of children population samples in 9 European countries)
· Epidemiological investigations of the relationship between foodstuff typical of the Mediterranean diet and high blood pressure and the "metabolic syndrome" of cardiovascular risk. (The Olivetti Heart Study, The IMMIDIET Project)
· Research on gene-environment interactions with regard to the determination of the cardiovascular risk profile (The Olivetti Heart Study, The IMMIDIET Project, The WHSS study). Genomics of complex diseases.
· Dietary intervention trials to reduce risk factors for hypertension and related metabolic abnormalities in Southern Italy.
· Evaluation of the knowledge and attitude of the public and of health operators with regard to the role of dietary counselling in the prevention and treatment of chronic degenerative disease.

Institute of Food Science, National Research Council (ISA-CNR)
Via Roma 52 A/C , 83100 Avellino, Italy

The National Research Council is the main public research institution in Italy. The Institute of Food Sciences, (ISA-CNR) (www.isa.cnr.it), director Prof. Antonio Malorni, holds a unique position within the National Research Council since it was established in 1994 to meet the need for a research centre where physicians, biochemists, food technologists and others could synergistically co-operate to improve human health through improved nutritional strategies.

The missions of ISA-CNR are:
A. to study composition and nutritional qualities of food;
B. to evaluate the effects of nutrition and nutrients on human health;
C. to characterize and improve local food related to the Mediterranean diet;
D. to apply genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics to nutritional sciences.

The research lines are characterized by multidisciplinary approaches and are organized in three distinct areas, including different units:
1. Diet and Human Health;
2. Food Technology;
3. Proteomic and Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry Centre.

The Institute of Food Sciences provides a good environment for basic and applied research in the field of food sciences and human nutrition. Equipment and personnel expertise are available to conduct a broad spectrum of techniques in genetic and nutritional epidemiology, molecular and cellular biology and protein science. The laboratories own several cell culture facilities equipped with inverted and confocal microscopes, a flow cytometry, a blood cell irradiator and a histopathology laboratory. An excellent infrastructure for molecular biology and genetics is also available that includes two real time PCRs, a DNA sequencer, a robotized equipment for DNA/RNA purification, etc. A fully automated clinical biochemical laboratory is capable to perform a large series of determinations on biological samples. There is an excellent protein chemistry/proteomics facility including several HPLC and FPLC, capillary electrophoresis, peptide synthesizer and a superb mass spectrometry core facility. In addition, ISA is equipped with all biochemical supplies that allow micro-scale analysis of cell extract like the FAST system, Multiphor and the SMART system. Finally, ISA-CNR has been recently equipped with a modern animal core facility. Computational facilities and a bioinformatics unit are also available.

Website: http://www.isa.cnr.it/web-new/ing/research/aree_01_01.htm