MILVIA CASATO

Current position
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Sapienza University of Rome

Work experience
2005-date Head, Referral Center for Mixed Cryoglobulinemia Lazio Region, Policlinico Umberto I, University Hospital (www.crioglobulinemia.it)
1996-2017 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Sapienza University of Rome
1990-1996 Technical officer, Department of Clinical Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

EDUCATION AND TRAINING
1982-1989 Residency in Clinical Immunology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
1984-1987 PhD in Immunology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
1982 Degree in Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

 ORGANISATIONAL AND MANAGERIAL SKILLS
2005-date responsible for the Referral Center for Mixed Cryoglobulinemia in the context of the Italian Network for Rare Disorders, managed by the Italian National Institute of Health. The center’s personnel ranges between 6 and 8 people (3 physicians, 1 biotechnologist and a variable number of physicians or biologists under temporary contract. The centre includes day hospital, hospital ward, outpatient clinic and laboratory.

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
Cryoglobulinemic vasculitis, systemic autoimmune diseases. First description of the efficacy of Interferon for the treatment of mixed cryoglobulinemia (Am J Med 1987) and in HCV-associated lymphomas (Blood 2002).

FUNDING (grant as principal investigator)
2017 Sapienza University intramural research program; “Biomarkers of endothelial and coagulation system dysfunction as predictors of active vasculitis in patients with HCV-associated and essential mixed cryoglobulinemia”. € 31.750.

PARTECIPATION TO INTERNATIONL RESEARCH GROUPS
1998-2001 International (IT-USA) Study Group on the treatment of HCV-associated lymphoma with antiviral therapy.

2001-2003 International (IT-FR) Study Group on “Central Nervous System Manifestations in Cryoglobulinemia Vasculitis”

2008-2014 EUDRACT n. 2008-000086-38. Multicenter study (Sapienza University Rome, University of Pavia, Firenze, Trieste). “A phase 2, single-arm, multicenter study on the benefit/cost/safety profile of low-dose rituximab for refractory mixed cryoglobulinemia”. Promoter: AIFA, Prot. FARM6KMZFY.

2011-2014: International Study Group on “Genome-Wide Association Study of Hepatitis C Virus- and Cryoglobulin-Related Vasculitis”. Coordinator: David L. Thomas (Johns Hopkins, Baltimore MD). Supported in part by: Merck; Wellcome Trust; National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, USA; National Institutes of Health, USA; Center for Translational Science Award, USA.

2015-date International multicenter Study Group on “A retrospective study to evaluate the anti-lymphoma and antiviral activity of interferon-free regimens in patients with hepatitis C virus-associated indolent B cell lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia”. Coordinator: L. Arcaini (Pavia).

2015-date Co-convenor of the “Steering Committee of the International Study Group of Extrahepatic Manifestations related to HCV (ISG-EHCV)”.
Convenor: Patrice Cacoub (FR). Co-convenors: MILVIA CASATO (IT), Clodoveo Ferri (IT), Peter Lamprecht (GE), Alessandra Mangia (IT), Manuel Ramos-Casals (SP), David Saadoun (FR), Athanasios G. Tzioufas GR), Zobair M. Younossi (USA), Anna Linda Zignego (IT).

HONOURS AND AWARDS
1989 Winner, with equal merit with Dr. Peter von Wussow, of the Alfaferone International Award 1989 for the first demonstration of the efficacy of interferon in the treatment of “essential” mixed cryoglobulinemia (Am J Med. 1987).

PUBLICATIONS
First and coauthor of 60 articles in International high impacted journals (New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Blood, Hepatology).