Experimental Hepatology
Giovanni Sitia
Email: sitia.giovanni@hsr.it
Location: DIBIT1 B4, Floor 1, Room 95
Group Leader, Experimental hepatology
Dr. Giovanni Sitia earned his M.D. degree from the Università degli Studi di Milano and holds a Board Certification in Infectious Disease from the Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milano. He completed a two-year post-doctoral training program at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla, USA, focusing on liver immunopathology and HBV pathogenesis under the mentorship of Prof. L.G. Guidotti and Prof. F. Chisari. Additionally, he completed a one-year post-doctoral training in the laboratory of Prof. M. Bianchi at IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, and further honed his skills in the laboratory of Prof. Y. Nakamoto in Kanazawa, Japan, specializing in establishing immune-mediated mouse models for chronic HBV and hepatocellular carcinoma.
For the past 15 years, Dr. Sitia has dedicated his research to primary and secondary liver cancer, with a particular focus on liver metastases and IFNα-based immunotherapies. He is widely recognized for his expertise in mouse models of liver cancer, metastatic colorectal cancer, and more recently, pancreatic cancer. He has authored over 55 peer-reviewed publications, including more than 20 as first or last author, and his work has an average impact factor exceeding 8.
Dr. Sitia serves as an Adjunct Professor of Pathology at Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele and is the President and a Scientific Member of the San Raffaele Animal Review Board (IACUC/OPBA) at IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele. He is also an Associate Editor for Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy at Frontiers in Immunology and Frontiers in Oncology. Additionally, he is a member of various professional associations, including the Società Italiana di Immunologia, Immunologia Clinica ed Allergologia (SIICA), the Network Italiano per la BioTerapia dei Tumori (NIBIT), the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver (AISF), and the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL).
1997 MD in Medicine and Surgery, University of Milan, 100/110
1998 Board certified in Medicine and Surgery, University of Milan
2001-2004 Residency and Board certified in Infectious Disease, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, School of Medicine, Milan, 70/70 cum laude
2002 Best Oral communication at the 2002 “The Molecular Biology of Hepatitis B Viruses, Asilomar, USA
2003 Best Oral communication at the 2003 The Molecular Biology of Hepatitis B Viruses, Bergamo, Italy
1996-97 Resident in the Department of Infectious Diseases, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, University of Milan, Italy, Head A. Lazzarin
1997-2000 Research fellow in the Clinical Immunology Laboratory of San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Head A. Lazzarin.
2001-2003 Research fellow in the Laboratory of Prof. Luca Guidotti, Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA.
2004-2005 Research fellow in the Laboratory of Prof. Marco Bianchi, Chromatin Dynamics Unit, DIBIT, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
2004-2006 Research fellow in the Laboratory of Prof. Luca Guidotti, Immunopathogenesis of Liver Infections Unit, DIBIT, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
2007-2010 Scientist “Ricercatore” in the Immunopathogy Unit, DIBIT, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
2008 Visiting Scientist, Department of Gastroenterology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.
2010-2015 Tenured Scientist “Ricercatore”, Division of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
2015-Present Group Leader, Experimental Hepatology Unit, Division of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.