Roberto Burioni was born on 10 December 1962 and is an Italian virologist, physician and academic, Professor of Microbiology and Virology at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan where he runs a lab developing human monoclonal antibodies against human infectious agents, the study of pathogen-host interplay, and the use of molecular tools in the early diagnosis of infectious diseases.
17 Facts About Roberto Burioni
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Roberto Burioni attended the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia and the Wistar Institute of the University of Pennsylvania as a visiting student in the laboratory of Dr Hilary Koprowski and Carlo Maria Croce.
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Roberto Burioni has been a visiting scientist at both the Center for Molecular Genetics at the University of California, San Diego, and at the Scripps Research Institute.
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Roberto Burioni was appointed Assistant Professor at the Medical School of the Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, in 1995 before moving to Assistant Professor in Virology at the Medical School of the University of Ancona in 1999.
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Roberto Burioni moved to the medical school at the Universita Vita-Salute San Raffaele in Milan in 2004, first as an Associate Professor and later as Full Professor of Microbiology and Virology.
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Roberto Burioni is an active campaigner against the antivaccination movement and rose to fame in Italy after an appearance on the TV talk show Virus in 2016, on the national TV channel Rai 2.
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Roberto Burioni was left with only a few minutes in which to rebut the misinformation.
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Roberto Burioni is known for his matter-of-fact approach when dealing with antivaccination activists.
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In June 2020 the Vaccine Confidence Project found that opposition to a Coronavirus vaccine was very low, with Roberto Burioni noting that the anti-vax movement in Italy had nearly disappeared.
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In early February 2020, Roberto Burioni noted that COVID-19 was far more dangerous than the common flu and that due to its highly contagious nature, it was important not to underestimate it, but rather deal with it decisively.
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Roberto Burioni further noted the importance of diagnosing cases as quickly as possible and isolating people who were or might get infected.
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Later the same month, Roberto Burioni again emphasised the importance of self-isolation and avoiding crowded places, noting that Italy had so far been unable to limit the rapid spread of the virus.
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Roberto Burioni has backed the measures taken by the Italian government to halt the spread of COVID-19, calling it an "indispensable measure".
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Roberto Burioni received criticism on social media for doing this but responded saying that books on the epidemic were needed now in order to help people understand what was happening.
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Roberto Burioni further suggested that anyone found to have COVID-19 should be isolated at a hotel or other facility rather than their home, warning that without these measures COVID-19 could spread anew, resulting in having to start the lockdown all over again.
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Roberto Burioni noted that it was humiliating that medical and health workers had to be forced to be vaccinated and was concerned over the implications of the high number of health professionals refusing to do so.
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Roberto Burioni suggested that the selection process used for obtaining a medical licence was not effective enough.