Professor Emanuele Montomoli

The Reuters article Monkey cells used for bird flu vaccine said

A bird flu vaccine made from monkey cells instead of chicken eggs has been reported effective by corporate researchers.
 
The researchers, from drug company Baxter International, documented the use of monkey cells as a safe alternative for influenza vaccinations.
 
“Cell culture technology could represent the future of influenza vaccine production,” said virologist John Oxford of The Queen Mary School of Medicine in London.
 
Scientists had previously been using chicken eggs but they found it difficult to obtain the right type and observed that the virus, H5N1, kills chickens rapidly.

Emanuele Montomoli, Ph.D. was one of these researchers and is Professor, Public Health, Lab Molecular Epidemiology, University of Siena, Italy.
 
Emanuele has extensive experience in respiratory viruses, particularly influenza. Since 1994 he has been carrying out seroepidemiological research for evaluating the immune status of the population toward influenza viruses. Since 1995 he has mostly overseen clinical trials of vaccines, evaluating their immunogenicity and reactogenicity.
 
His recent research is focused on the molecular epidemiology of respiratory viruses, particularly the influenza and avian influenza strains. Currently, his research interests are focused on the standardization of serological assays for vaccine immune response evaluation. He is the author of approximately thirty articles, as well as numerous abstracts and letters, published in Italian and international scientific journals.
 
He coauthored A Clinical Trial of a Whole-Virus H5N1 Vaccine Derived from Cell Culture, Prevalence of antibodies to Vaccinia virus after smallpox vaccination in Italy, Influenza-related mortality in the Italian elderly: No decline associated with increasing vaccination coverage, Impact of routine infant and adolescent hepatitis B vaccination in Tuscany, Central Italy, Combination adjuvants for the induction of potent, long-lasting antibody and T-cell responses to influenza vaccine in mice, Pre-emptive vaccination against pandemic influenza virus, Cross-protection by MF59&tm;adjuvanted influenza vaccine: Neutralizing and haemagglutination-inhibiting antibody activity against A(H3N2) drifted influenza viruses, and Susceptibility to varicella in childbearing age women, Central Italy: Is there a need for vaccinating this population group? Read the full list of his publications!
 
Emanuele graduated in 1988 from the Technical School in Siena as an expert industrial chemist. In 1997 he earned a MSc. in Biology at the Physical Mathematical and Natural Science Faculty of the University of Siena with the thesis “Optimization of the use of MDCK cell cultures (Madin Darby canine kidney) for the epidemiological control of influenza”. In 2002 he earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Enzymology at the School of Siena University with the thesis “Purification of hemoagglutinin of the type B influenza virus through isoelectric focalization”.