I am truly honoured to be elected a Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences. I am a strong believer of the central role of science in bringing benefit to society. I fully embrace the Academy’s mission of improving health via biomedical research and I feel privileged to have now the possibility to contribute to its activities. This is a prestigious recognition of the work of my group on cardiac regeneration over the past couple of decades, as well as on COVID-19 recently. But it also carries a great responsibility for us to bring our research to patients in the shortest time possible.
Professor Mauro Giacca, from the School of Cardiovascular Medicine & Sciences,
12 May 2021
Professor Mauro Giacca elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences
Professor Mauro Giacca, from the School of Cardiovascular Medicine & Sciences, is one of 50 new Fellows to be elected to the prestigious Academy of Medical Sciences.
The new Fellows were selected for their exceptional contributions to the advancement of medical science through innovative research discoveries and translating scientific developments into benefits for patients and the wider society. King’s scientist Professor Thalia Eley, from the Faculty of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, was also elected.
Professor Giacca, Professor of Cardiovascular Sciences at the British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, is 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. His research has been founded by numerous international grants, including two consecutive ERC Advanced Investigator grants, two consecutive Leducq Foundation grants and a British Heart Foundation Programme Grant.
Starting from March 2020, he has redeployed part of the research of his group to investigate 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.
He was previously the Director-General of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), a United Nations organization in in Trieste, Italy from 2004 to 2019 and Professor of Professor of Molecular Biology and Director of the Molecular Biology Laboratory of Scuola Normale Superiore, in Pisa, one of the leading academic institutions in Italy from 2000 to 2004. He is the President of the International Society for Heart Research (ISHR) European Section and serves in the scientific boards of numerous academic institutions internationally. He is a founder of two startup companies in London operating in the field of gene therapy.
The Academy of Medical Sciences are the independent body in the UK representing the diversity of medical science, with a mission is to advance biomedical and health research and its translation into benefits for society.
Professor Dame Anne Johnson PMedSci, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said: "I am truly delighted to welcome these 50 new Fellows to the Academy’s Fellowship, and I offer my congratulations to each of them on their exceptional contribution to biomedical and health science. The knowledge, skill and influence that each brings to the Fellowship is the Academy’s most powerful asset."
The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy on 1 July 2021.
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Head of the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences