Research

RESEARCH

Research statistics
Academic age: 19 years (period 2002-2020)
Total number of international publications (incl. publ in press): 80
Number of publications authored as first name: 28
Number of publications authored as last name: 7
Number of publications as corresponding author: 25
Total impact factor (SCI Journal Citation Reports 2016) = 222,5
H index Scopus = 29
Mean IF from 67 publications: 3,2

Research activity
The research activity of Luigi Vezzulli is mainly focused on the study of the biology and ecology of pathogenic bacteria belonging to the genus Vibrio. Research conducted in this field explored the mechanisms of persistence and survival strategies of Vibrio bacteria in the aquatic environment. Studies have shown that zooplankton and other aquatic organisms represent important environmental reservoirs and/or hosts of V. cholerae and other Vibrio species. In particular, research on molecular determinants that are responsible for V. cholerae interaction with environmental substrates highlighted the role of outer membrane proteins in mediating V. cholerae adhesion to chitin containing substrates. Special attention was given to N-acetyl glucosamine-binding protein A (GbpA) of V. cholerae which is involved in colonization of both human intestinal cells and environmental chitin surfaces via the same binding specificity. The gbpA gene is located in a non mobile region of chromosome II and was found ubiquitously in V. cholerae. The gene is also present in V. vulnificus and V. parahamolyticus with conserved and species specific hypervariable regions. These properties make gbpA a good phylogenetic marker for human pathogenic Vibrio species and allowed the development of new molecular protocols for detection and quantification of V. cholerae in complex environmental matrices (including historical formalin-fixed environmental samples). Studies on GbpA showed that this ligand plays an important role in V. cholerae interaction with its main environmental reservoirs in coastal water (e.g. copepods). Moreover, due to the upregulation exerted by temperature on its expression, GbpA is likely to contribute to the enhanced V. cholerae colonization capability of zooplankton organisms at high environmental temperature, thus partially explaining the role of ocean warming in promoting the spread of these bacteria in the aquatic environment. Ongoing research in this field is devoted to study possible use of GbpA as a component of vaccine against V cholerae in collaboration with the University of Maryland (USA) and the Centre of Biotechnology of the University of Maputo (Mozambique).

In the field of non-human diseases research activity was devoted to study Vibrio species that cause diseases in marine animals (e.g. corals and bivalves). Studies were conducted to assess the role of thermodependant Vibrio pathogens in mass mortality events of benthic invertebrates in the NW Mediterranean Sea which are related to sea surface temperature anomalies registered during the recent years. Such studies resulted in the identification of the TAV24 Vibrio strain, later identified as V. coralliilyticus, which was demonstrated to trigger mass mortality events of the purple gorgonian Paramuricea clavata, a key structuring species of the coralligenous assemblages in the NW Mediterranean Sea. Ongoing activity in this field is carried out in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS) aimed at the genotypic and phenotypic characterization of the TAV24 strain and the assessment of involved virulence factors using transposon and site-specific mutagenesis. In the field of bivalve diseases ongoing activity in collaboration with IFREMER (France) and other European Institutes (in the frame of European projects FP7-BIVALIFE and Horizon 2020-VIVALDI) is focused on the study of the biology and ecology of Vibrio splendidus and Vibrio aestuarianus which are involved in abnormal mortality events of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas in the Atlantic ocean. Particular focus was given to the study of V. aestuarianus and V. spleniduds interaction with bivalve hemocytes and other bivalve defense mechanisms. Major findings in this field resulted in the identification of a mussel serum opsonin (matching the protein precursor of Mytilus edulis extrapallial protein -EP) directed towards D-mannose binding bacterial ligands that were shown to mediate V. aestuarianus 01/032 interactions with M. galloprovincialis haemocytes. In the presence of M. galloprovincialis EP protein (MgEP), C. gigas haemocytes killed V. aestuarianus 01/032 almost as efficiently as mussel phagocytes. These findings suggest that the different sensitivity of 01/032 strain to the antibacterial activity of oyster and mussel haemolymph might partly depend on the fact that C. gigas serum lacks MgEP-like opsonins.

In the field of Vibrio ecology research was also conducted to study the effects of ocean warming on natural Vibrio populations through the development of a novel approach which is based on the molecular analysis of formalin-fixed samples from the historical Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) archive. The CPR archive, which is based at the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS) in Plymouth (UK), is one of the longest and most geographically extensive collection of marine plankton samples in the world. For the first time prokaryotic DNA was recovered from CPR samples that had been stored for up to ~50 years in a formalin-fixed format. Protocols were developed for the application of microbiological molecular techniques (e.g. PCR-based and Next Generation Sequencing techniques) on archived CPR samples. Using such protocols we were able to demonstrate that there was an increase in the numbers of vibrios over the past half century, probably a two or threefold increase, correlated with the increase in climate temperature, and then correlated with outbreaks of vibrio infections that have been recorded in the medical records. These findings provide support for the view that global warming is having a strong impact on the composition of marine prokaryotic communities with potential important implications for human and animal health.

Early research of Luigi Vezzulli was focused on the study of microbial ecology and bioremediation of organic-rich marine ecosystems. In 2011 Luigi Vezzulli developed the WinCPR software, a gridded database of plankton abundance in the North Sea compiled from monthly sampling by the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Survey (WinCPR is freely available at http://cpr.cscan.org/).

Chapter in International books

●James D. Oliver, Carla Pruzzo, Luigi Vezzulli, James B. Kaper" Vibrio Species," Food Microbiology: Fundamentals and Frontiers, 4th Ed. Edited by M. P. Doyle and R. L. Buchanan © 2013 ASM Press, Washington, ISBN-10: 1555816266, D.C. doi:10.1128/9781555818463.ch16
● Ingrid Brettar, Manfred G. Höfle, Carla Pruzzo, Luigi Vezzulli. Climate Change Effects on Planktonic Bacterial Communities in the Ocean ISBN: 978-1-910190-31-9–From Structure and Function to Long-term and Large-scale Observations, “Climate Change and Microbial Ecology: Current Research and Future Trends” Ed. Edited by Jürgen Marxsen Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany, © 2015 Caister Academic Press, Norfolk, UK
● Luigi Vezzulli, William H. Wilson, Carla Pruzzo (2017). Investigating the macroecology of emerging Vibrio pathogens in the ocean using the Continuous Plankton Recorder technology. In CIESM 2017. Searching for Bacterial Pathogens in the Digital Ocean. CIESM Workshop Monograph n 49 [F. Briand, ed.], 158 p., CIESM Publisher, Monaco.
● Ceccarelli D, Amaro C, Romalde JL, Suffredini E, Vezzulli L " Vibrio Species," Food Microbiology: Fundamentals and Frontiers, 5th Ed. Edited by Francisco Diez-Gonzalez © 2018 ASM Press, Washington, In press

Development of scientific softwares
SAHFOS WinCPR v.1.1

www version
Vezzulli L., Dowland PS, Reid PC, Hylton EK (2007). Gridded database browser of North Sea plankton, Version 1.1: fifty four years (1948-2001) of monthly plankton abundance from the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey. Sir Alister Hardy Foundation, Plymouth, UK. At URL: http://cpr.cscan.org/

CD version
Vezzulli L, Dowland PS, Reid PC, Hylton EK (2007). Gridded database browser of North Sea plankton, Version 1.1: fifty four years (1948-2001) of monthly plankton abundance from the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey [CD-ROM]. Sir Alister Hardy Foundation, Plymouth, UK.

Ongoing International collaboration

● Rita R. Colwell Maryland Pathogen Research Institute and 3Center of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
● Anwar Huq. University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
● Ingrid Brettar, Manfred Höefle, Carlos A. Guzman, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Dept. Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology, Braunschweig, Germany
● Philip Chris Reid. Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS), Plymouth, UK
● David G. Bourne, Australian Institute of Marine Science Townsville (Australia)
● Monique Pommepuy, Dominique Hervio. Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER) Laboratoire Microbiologie, Brest France
● Tristan Renault. Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), Laboratoire de Génétique et Pathologie (LGP), Avenue de Mus de Loup, 17390 La Tremblade, France.
● Ibrahim Banat, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, UK
● Micha Ilan, Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Israel
● Mauro Colombo, Centre of Biotechnology, University Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique
● Jaime Martinez Urtaza, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), UK
● Willie Wilson, Marine Biological Association (MBA), Plymouth, UK

CONFERENCE AND SYMPOSIA

Keynote/invited speaker at conferences and symposia

● 2005: “Integrated assessment of recently identified risk factors for food safety improvement in mussel farming” Euro-Mediterranean meetings-the innovation for an economic and sustainable development in the Mediterranean Sea, 3-4 October 2005, Izmir, Turkey (general session)(Invited speaker).
● 2009: “Interazioni microbiche nell’ambiente marino: aspetti emergenti”. 37° Congresso Nazionale della Società Italiana di Microbiologia, 11-14 October 2009, Turin, Italy (Invited speaker)
● 2011: “Interactions between vibrios and copepods: effects on pathogen persistence, survival and transmission to humans” 11th International Conference on Copepoda, 10-15 July 2011, Merida (Yucatan), Mexico (general session) (Invited speaker)
● 2012: “Effect of global warming on Vibrio spp. in the temperate marine environment” International Symposium "Pathogenic Vibrio spp. in Northern European Waters", 31 May-1 June 2012, Koblenz, Germany (plenary key-note lecture)
● 2012: “Long-term effects of ocean warming on vibrios” AGU Fall Meeting 2012, 3-7 December 2012, San Francisco, USA (Invited speaker)
● 2013: “Dall’ambiente all’uomo: Evoluzione e Selezione di caratteristiche di virulenza In Vibrio cholerae”, 41° Congresso Nazionale della Società Italiana di Microbiologia, 13-16 October 2013, Riccione, Italy (general session) (Invited speaker)
● 2014: “Macroecology of vibrios in the temperate northern hemisphere linked to ocean warming”, Vibrio 2014 conference, 1-4 April 2014, Edinburgh (UK) (plenary key-note lecture)
● 2015: “Vibrio and Climate change: what's relevant for Europe?” Vibrio European workshop, 11-12 March 2015, Paris, France (general session) (Invited speaker)
● 2015: “Ocean warming and spread of pathogenic vibrios in the aquatic environment”
Convegno SIMGBM, 23-26 September 2015, Ravenna, Italy (general session) (Invited speaker)
● 2016: “Genotipizzazione diretta di Vibrio cholerae nelle acque mediante NGS” Convegno Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), Esperienze del gruppo di lavoro a Genova, Ospedale Galliera, 15th January 2016, Genoa, Italy (general session) (Invited speaker)
● 2017: “Ecology and spread of human pathogenic Vibrio in the marine environment and link with climate change”, 45° Congresso Nazionale della Società Italiana di Microbiologia, 27-30 September 2017, Genova, Italy (Invited speaker)
● 2017: “Ocean warming and spread of pathogenic vibrios in the aquatic environment”, The impact of climate change on marine ecosystems workshop held at the Monaco Yacht club, 12-14 October 2017, Principality of Monaco (general session) (Invited speaker)
● 2018: “Ocean warming and the Global Vibrio threat”, ASM Microbe 2018, 7-11 June 2018, Atlanta, USA (Invited speaker)

Speaker at conferences and symposia

● 2000: “The distribution and biochemical composition of biogenic particles in the Azores-Madeira region (North Atlantic)”, Congresso Nazionale Associazione Italiana di Oceanologia e Limnologia, September 2000, Garda, Italy (comunicazione orale)
● 2001: “Organic matter composition, bacteria response and functioning in well-established fish farm sediments of the Ligurian Sea (Western Mediterranean)”, 36th Congress Comission Internationale Pour l’Exploration Scientifique de la Mer Mediterranèe (CIESM), 24-28 September 2001, Monte Carlo (comunicazione orale)
● 2006: “An experimental-based conceptual model for the bioremediation of organic-rich sediments in the Mediterranean Sea”, Second International Symposium on research and management of eutrophication in coastal ecosystems, 20-23 June 2006, Nyborg, Denmark (comunicazione orale)
● 2008: “Microbial ecology of V. cholerae in the aquatic environment: perspectives for the development of new antibacterial strategies” X Congresso Annuale della Federazione Italiana delle Scienze della Vita (FISV), 24-27 September 2008, Riva del Garda, Italy (comunicazione orale)
● 2008: “Toward a global ecological approach to the study of environmental pathogens and associated human infections”, XVIII Congresso Nazionale della Società Italiana di Ecologia (SITE), 1-3 September 2008, Parma, Italy (comunicazione orale)
● 2010: “Vibrio infections triggering mass mortality events in a warming Mediterranean Sea”, Bertinoro meeting di Microbiologia Ambientale, 21-22 May 2010, Bertinoro, Italy (comunicazione orale)
● 2010: “Vibrio infections triggering mass mortality events in a warming Mediterranean Sea”, XX Congresso Nazionale della Società Italiana di Ecologia (SITE), 27-30 September 2010, Roma, Italy (comunicazione orale)
● 2012: “Effect of global warming on Vibrio spp. in the temperate marine environment”, 40° Congresso Nazionale della Società Italiana di Microbiologia, 7-10 October 2012, Riccione, Italy (comunicazione orale)
● 2013: “16SrDNA pyrosequencing of the Mediterranean gorgonian Paramuricea clavata reveals a link among alterations in bacterial holobiont members, anthropogenic influence and disease outbreaks”, Convegno SIMGBM, 8-21 September 2013, Ischia, Italy (comunicazione orale)
● 2016: “Whole-genome enrichment provides deep insights into Vibrio cholerae metagenome from an African river”, 1° Congresso Nazionale Congiunto SITE - UZI - SIB, 30 August-2 September 2016, Milan, Italy (comunicazione orale)

Participation at conferences and symposia

● Ecosystem Effects of Fishing, ICES/SCOR Symposium, 15-19 March 1999, Montpellier, France
● 2° Convegno Nazionale delle Scienze del Mare, 22-25 November 2000, Genoa, Italy
● Congress European Federation of Marine Science and Technology societies (EFMS), 27-29 September 2002, Athens, Greece
● Aquaculture Europe 2002 Conference, 16-19 October, Trieste, Italy
● 8th Symposium on Aquatic Microbial Ecology. 25-30 October 2002, Taormina, Italy
● Southern European Coastal Lagoons: the influence of river basin-coastal zone interactions international conference, 10-12 November 2003, Ferrara, Italy
● Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition, 5-8 July 2004, London, England
● XV Congresso Nazionale della Società Italiana di Ecologia (SITE), 12-14 September 2005, Turin, Italy
● VII Congresso Annuale della Federazione Italiana delle Scienze della Vita (FISV), 22-25 September 2005, Riva del Garda, Italy
● Vibrio 2010 international symposium, 28 November-1 December 2007, Paris, France
● Vibrio 2009 International Symposium, 4-6 November 2009, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
● Vibrio in the Environment 2010 International Symposium, 7-12 November 2010, Biloxi (Mississippi), USA
● Preventing the adverse health impacts of climate change: What public health interventions really work and what do not? 16-17 June 2011, ECDC, Stockholm, Sweden
● Convegno SIMGBM, 21-23 September 2011, Pisa, Italy
● (chair) “Lower invertebrates symbiosis with microorganisms” international workshop Eilat (and Tel Aviv) 26 February-2 March 2012
● Convegno FISV, 24-27 September 2012, Pisa, Italy
● First EMBO Conference on Aquatic Microbial Ecology (SAME13), 8-13 September 2013, Stresa, Italy
● (chair) Convegno SIMGBM, 17-20 September 2017, Palermo, Italy

Invited seminars at National and International Institutions

● 2013: “Ecology of Vibrios in the light of Climate Change” seminary at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), 4st June 2013, Braunschweig, Germany
● 2013: “Ecology of Vibrios in the light of Climate Change” seminary at the Marine Biological Association and SAHFOS, 21st February 2013, Plymouth, UK
● 2014: “Vibrios and Climate Change”, seminary at CNR-ISMAR, 25 March 2014, Venice, Italy
● 2014: “Aquatic microbes and Human health in the light of Climate change: the "Vibrio" case study” seminary at EPFL, 25 November 2014, Lausanne, Switzerland
● 2015: “Vibrio and CPR: an update!” seminary at the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science, 24st February 2015, Plymouth, UK
● 2017: “Pathogenic Vibrios in the Marine Environment” seminary at University of Milano-Bicocca, 18st December 2017, Milan, IT

Membership in Organizing Committee of National/International conferences and symposia
● 2013: member of the local Organizing Committee of the First EMBO Conference on Aquatic Microbial Ecology (SAME13), 8-13 September 2013, Stresa, Italy

Participation to national and international courses

● 2003: Participation to the course “Detecting multivariate changes in biological assemblages: experimental design and data analysis”, Prof. M.J. Anderson (University of Auckland, New Zealand), Prof. L. Benedetti-Cecchi (University of Pisa, Italy), Prof. K.R. Clarke and P. Somerfield (Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK), from 26 May to 6 June, University of Lecce (Italy).
● 2009: Participation to the course “Advanced bioinformatics”, 5-6 October 2009, Fondazione per le Biotecnologie (www.fobiotech.org), Torino (Italy).
● 2010: Participation to the course “Mini Corso 454 New Generation Sequencing La tecnologia, le applicazioni, i vantaggi”. 13 May 2012, University of Genoa (Italy).

RESEARCH PROJECT

Principal Investigator of National Research Projects

● 2006  ATENEO DI GENOVA (Principal investigator): "Mechanism of horizontal gene transfer of Vibrio spp in mussels" funded by the University of Genoa (euro 8,077) (2006).
● 2011 ATENEO DI GENOVA (Principal investigator): "Climate and infectious disease: effects of ocean warming on the global ecology and biogeography of Vibrio pathogens" funded by "University of Genoa" Principal investigator: Luigi Vezzulli (euro 7,011).

Principal Investigator of European Research Projects

● 2013-2017 SEVENTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME (Coordinator of research unit): "Protecting the health of Europeans by improving methods for the detection of pathogens in drinking water and water used in food preparation (AQUAVALENS)" funded by "European FP7 topic-KBBE-2012-6", Principal investigator: Paul Hunter (University of East Anglia, England), coordinator of the research unit of Univ. Genoa since 2015 onward: Luigi Vezzulli (euro 250,511).
● 2018-2022 HORIZON 2020 (Coordinator of research unit): "Controlling Microbiomes Circulations For Better Food Systems (CIRCLES)" funded by "European Horizon 2020 Call: H2020-SFS-2018-2020, Principal investigator: Marco Candela (Univ. Bologna, Italy), coordinator of the research unit: Luigi Vezzulli (euro 100,000).

Principal Investigator of other International Research Projects

● 2012-2014  ITALIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Principal investigator): ""The mesophotic zone: Conservation tool and new drugs frontier" funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs within the the Joint Italian-Israeli R&D programme (euro 20,000).
● 2014-2015  ROYAL SOCIETY (UK) (Co-Principal investigator) : "Global Scale Macroecology of Human Vibrio pathogens (GLOBALVIBRIO)" funded by the Royal Society (UK) within the International Exchanges Scheme - 2013/R2 (GBP 12,000) (2014:2015).
● 2018 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY (USA) (Principal investigator): "Macroecology of Vibrio cholerae in Lake Tanganyika". funded by "National Geographic Society (USA)" (USD 30,000).

Participation to national research projects

●2005-2008 ITALIAN MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY AND RESEARCH (Participant) “ Innovative model for integrated management of marine fish farm to improve food safety and environmental quality (ALLITTIMA)" funded by "Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research" Programme "Fondo Integrativo Speciale per la Ricerca (FISR)", Principal investigator: Biancamaria Poli, coordinator of the research unit: Mauro Fabiano (euro 197,115)
● 2008 ATENEO DI GENOVA (Participant): "Mass mortality events of benthic invertebrates in the Mediterranean Sea: environmental stress and/or microbial infections? funded by "University of Genoa", Principal investigator: Carlo Cerrano (euro 6,000).
● 2010-2012 ITALIAN MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY AND RESEARCH (Participant): "Ruolo dell'ambiente marino nella selezione di batteri patogeni per l'uomo:il caso dell'adesina p53 di Vibrio cholerae" funded by "Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research" Programme PRIN 2008, Principal investigator: Lleo' Fernandez Maria Del Mar, coordinator of the research unit: Carla Pruzzo (euro 52,527).
● 2013-2014 ITALIAN MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY AND RESEARCH (Participant) "Integrate Research on Antarctic Silverfish Ecology in the Ross sea" funded by "Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research" Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide, Call 2013, Principal investigator: Marino Vacchi (ISMAR-CNR).
● 2015-2018 ITALIAN MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY AND RESEARCH (Participant) “Discovery of novel antimicrobial compounds from unexplored marine environments as a source of innovative antimicrobial approaches to address the global threat of antibiotic resistance” funded by "Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research" Programma SIR, Call 2014, Principal investigator: Filomena De Luca (University of Siena), (euro 344,036)

Participation to European research projects

● 2010-2013 SEVENTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME (Participant): "Controlling of infectious diseases in oysters and mussels in Europe (BIVALIFE)" funded by "European FP7-topic KBBE. 2010.1.2-08", Principal investigator: Tristan Reanault (IFREMER France), coordinator of the research unit: Carla Pruzzo (euro 201,000).
● 2016-2019 HORIZON 2020 (Participant): "Preventing and mitigating farmed bivalve diseases (VIVALDI)" funded by "European Horizon 2020 Call: H2020 — H2020-SFS-2015-2, Principal investigator: Isabelle Arzul (IFREMER, France), coordinator of the research unit: Carla Pruzzo (euro 199,230).

Participation to other international research projects

● 2011 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY (USA) (Participant): "The exploration of the Mediterranean mesophotic zone: a new frontier for biodiversity discovery". funded by "National Geographic Society (USA)" Principal investigator: Carlo Cerrano (USD 20,000).

No peer-review research contract

● 2010 STUDIO TECNICO LANTERI (Principal investigator): “Detection, isolation and genotyping of Legionella pneomophila serogroup 1 in water” funded by Studio Tecnico Lanteri (Sanremo) (euro 2,170).

PRIZES, AWARDS AND IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

2005: Honorary Fellow of the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (Marine Biological Association since April 2018), Plymouth, UK
Dr Luigi Vezzulli was elected as Honorary Fellow by the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science at the 28th Council Meeting in April 2005 (a position which transfers to the CPR Survey at the MBA). The award was given in recognition of his work with the Foundation on WinCPR, a gridded database of plankton abundance in the North Sea compiled from monthly sampling by the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Survey (WinCPR is freely available at http://cpr.cscan.org/). WinCPR has been used by researchers and research institutes worldwide and has a wide range of potential applications including marine ecology, microbial oceanography, marine management, mathematics, modelling and statistical analysis. Recently WinCPR have been employed by Vezzulli et al 2012 (ISMEJ, 6:21-30) and Vezzulli et al 2016 (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 23;113(34):E5062-71) to investigate the relationship between Vibrio and plankton over a multidecadal scale showing that the genus Vibrio, including the human pathogen V. cholerae, has increased in prevalence in the last half a century in the coastal waters of the North Atlantic and North Sea and that this increase is correlated significantly, during the same period, with warming sea surface temperature.

2011: Associated Researcher at the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (Marine Biological Association since April 2018), Plymouth, UK
In 2011 Dr Vezzulli was awarded a SAHFOS Associated Researcher bursary in recognition of his work with the Foundation on ‘Global Scale Macroecology of Vibrio pathogens (GLOBALVIBRIO)’.This activity is focused on the global emerging threats to human health posed by environmental Vibrio pathogens, who are causing serious public-health concerns in many areas throughout the world, including Europe, and whose occurrence is expected to increase in the near future under the influence of climate and human-driven environmental changes. The general objective of this research activity is to study the macroecology of human pathogenic vibrios in the global aquatic environment using the CPR technology, including the relationship with plankton, which represents one of the main environmental reservoir for these bacteria. This study will produce new knowledge in the frame of the current emerging issue concerning the worldwide spread of outbreaks and epidemics of human illness associated to vibrios.

2013: FEMS Invited Speaker Meeting Grant (ISMG) 2013
to attend the FEMS Meeting 2014-03: VIBRIO 2014 International Symposium (1-4 April 2014, Edinburgh, UK) and present a key-note lecture: "Global macroecology of Vibrio pathogens”

Impact of the research activity on international media
Research of Luigi Vezzulli focusing on the study on the effect of climate change on marine vibrio populations have received lot of publicity from international media around the world including international newspapers (e.g. El País, The Whasington post, New scientist etc), blogs (e.g. the Huffington post), and prestigious scientific societies (e.g. National Geographic Society, USA). Some papers by Luigi Vezzulli was awarded a cover image in scientific journals. In January 2018 a study lead by Luigi Vezzulli in collaboration with an international team of scientist from England, Germany and the United States considering how the apparent link between ocean warming and climate warming is impacting on marine bacteria has been highlighted via the NASA Image of the Day feature on the NASA website (https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=91591)

FOUNDATION AND PARTICIPATION IN PRIVATE COMPANIES

Luigi Vezzulli is a co-founder of the MICAMO srl (Corso Andrea Podestà 12/9 - 16128 Genova, Italia, P.IVA 02050300991, http://www.micamo.com). MICAMO (Microbiologia Ambientale e Molecolare) is a University SPIN-OFF founded in 2011 working in the biotechnological sector. MICAMO focus its activity in the application and development of Innovative technology for the detection and control of microbial pathogens in water and food. Supportive documentation regarding Luigi Vezzulli contribution in MICAMO srl is attached to this application in scanned PDF format

OTHER TITLES

Participation as member of editorial board in scientific Journals

Since February 2014 member of the editorial board of "Frontiers in Environmental Health"

Scientific Reviewer

Nature Climate Change, ISME Journal, Environmental Microbiology and Environmental Microbiology report, Scientific reports, Microbial Ecology, Journal of Applied Microbiology, Annals of Microbiology, PlosONE, Water Research, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Continental Shelf Research, Journal of Environmental Management, Deep-Sea Research Part II, Process Biochemistry, Journal of Plankton Research, Water SA, Hydrobiologia etc.

Project reviewer

Luigi Vezzulli has been project reviewer for the Natural Environment Research Council (UK) and the National Science Foundation (USA)

Membership of selection board of Italian research Institutes

Luigi Vezzulli has been member of selection boards for the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and the Zoological Station Anton Dohrn, Naple (SZN)

Membership of steering committee of scientific societies

● 2018-2019 Member of steering committee of the Italian Society of General Microbiology (S.I.M.G.B.M.)

Membership of scientific societies

● Italian Society for General Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology (S.I.M.G.B.M.)
● Italian Society of Microbiology (S.I.M)
● John Snow Society London (UK)
● American Society of Microbiology (ASM)(USA)