Giuseppe Scozzafava

Functional Genomics of Ankylosing Spondylitis

Giuseppe joined the Knight's group (Genomics of Immunity, Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics), as a researcher / project manager for the Arthritis UK sponsored ankylosing spondylitis research project. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is highly heritable with over 40 disease-associated loci on recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS). In most cases, association involves regulatory DNA variants and the specific modulated gene(s), pathways and mechanism of action remain unresolved, limiting translational utility. The goal of this research is to determine the functional basis for genetic associations with AS to advance understanding of disease pathogenesis and define opportunities for therapeutic intervention. We will use functional immunogenomics approaches and focus on primary cells and tissue samples relevant to the disease.

Giuseppe graduated "110/110 con lode" (BSc 1^st Hons equivalent) in Biological Sciences from “La Sapienza” University of Rome. He held several positions in the biotech industry, working in Quality Control, Customer Support Services and Research & Development at Amersham Biosciences (now GE Healthcare), contributing to the development of technologies and products used in genomics and proteomics research. In 2004 he joined a small research group at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford focusing on the development of a next generation sequencing scheme based on cyclic ligation. Between 2012 and 2015 he was part of the Screening and Assay Development group at the Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford where he worked on inhibitors for human histone demethylases.