I was born in Milan in December 27, 1970, I am married with one wonderful 13-year old boy. After receiving my MD in 1995 at the University of Milan, Italy, I completed Residency in Infectious Diseases in 2000 (Milan),  and I took a PhD in HIV/AIDS Clinic and Pathogenesis in 2003 (Milan). During both my residency and my PhD training, I have been visiting fellow at the RIVM (Bilthoven, the Netherlands), Rush University (Chicago, US) and the NIH (Bethesda, US) between 1996 and 2002. Currently, I am Full Professor at the University of Milan – Department of Health Sciences at San Paolo Hospital where I run a Laboratory with 2 PhD students, a post-doc, and several fellows.

I also have an appointment as Head of the Clinic of Infectious Diseases at San Paolo Hospital, Milan.

My major scientific interests and research areas are HIV pathogenesis with a particular focus on the interconnection between HIV-related inflammation and damage to the gastrointestinal system, as well as immune responses to antiretroviral therapies. Most recently, I have also focused on the immunopathogenesis of COVID-19 with a particular focus on the pathogenetic determinants of severe versus mild disease. Since 1996 I have authored or co-authored more than 200 original peer-reviewed publications. 

I currently am the PI of several grants from the Italian Ministry of Health, Regione Lombardia, Fondazione Cariplo, European Community (Horizon2020) for studies on the immunopathogenesis of HIV and – most recently – of SARS-COV-2.

In the years, I have presented my work at national and international conferences, and have been invited lecturer to both national and international conferences.