Giovanni Savini
Head
Giovanni Savini was born in Rome in 1960. After earning a degree in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Milan in 1986, he began his career in the Serology Unit of the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Abruzzo and Molise, where he initiated important collaborations with international institutions. In 1989, he moved to Australia, where he spent four years studying the epidemiological, clinical, pathological and laboratory aspects of protozoal diseases in various animal species. At the end of this period, he obtained a PhD from Murdoch University in Western Australia.
Giovanni Savini was born in Rome in 1960. After earning a degree in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Milan in 1986, he began his career in the Serology Unit of the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Abruzzo and Molise, where he initiated important collaborations with international institutions. In 1989, he moved to Australia, where he spent four years studying the epidemiological, clinical, pathological and laboratory aspects of protozoal diseases in various animal species. At the end of this period, he obtained a PhD from Murdoch University in Western Australia.
In 1994, Savini returned to the Institute in Teramo, where he served as Head of the Virology Unit from 1999 to 2024. Under his leadership, the Unit launched numerous research projects funded by the Italian government and the European Commission, collaborating with major international research institutions. In 1998, he specialised in Animal Health, Livestock Hygiene and Animal Production at the University of Pisa, with a focus on infectious diseases in farm animals. In 2005, thanks to his scientific and managerial expertise, he was appointed Head of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue.
His research primarily focuses on viral vector-borne diseases of veterinary importance, such as Bluetongue, African Horse Sickness and Epizootic Haemorrhagic Disease. He also works on diseases with potential public health implications, including Rift Valley Fever, West Nile and Usutu. He has contributed as an expert to numerous scientific working groups set up by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), at the request of the European Commission. In November 2014, he was the scientific coordinator of the Fourth International Conference on Bluetongue, held in Rome.
Since 2010, Savini has been a member of the Community Veterinary Emergency Team, the European Commission’s task force for responding to animal health emergencies in Europe and third countries. Since 2018, he has been Head of the Animal Health Laboratory. He also served as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Veterinaria Italiana from September 2012 to February 2025 and as Medical Director of the Institute from 4 July 2014 to 9 February 2017.
Since 16 March 2020, he has coordinated SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic activities at IZS-Teramo. As of 1 January 2023, he is Head of the European Union Reference Laboratory for Rift Valley Fever, working with national laboratories in EU Member States to harmonise methods and diagnostic techniques, and providing training on their use. He also liaises with the European Commission to provide technical and scientific support.
He is the author of over 230 scientific publications on infectious diseases in domestic animals, with a particular focus on vector-borne diseases.
