Luigi Iannetti
Head
He graduated with distinction in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Naples “Federico II” in 1999. He went on to complete a PhD in Clinical and Veterinary Pharmacological-Toxicological Sciences and earned two postgraduate specialisations: Inspection of Food of Animal Origin and Reproductive Pathophysiology in Animals.
He graduated with distinction in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Naples “Federico II” in 1999. He went on to complete a PhD in Clinical and Veterinary Pharmacological-Toxicological Sciences and earned two postgraduate specialisations: Inspection of Food of Animal Origin and Reproductive Pathophysiology in Animals.
He has been working at IZS Teramo since 2007 and was appointed Veterinary Officer in 2017. His work has long been connected to the activities of both the Food Hygiene and Technology Unit, particularly at the National Reference Laboratory for Listeria monocytogenes, and the Animal Welfare Unit, especially at the WOAH Multinational Collaboration Centre for Animal Welfare, where he currently serves as Chair and Steering Committee Member.
His professional activities include providing scientific and technical support to Competent Authorities, designing monitoring plans, and managing research projects. He serves as a technical expert for the Italian Ministry of Health in the DG-SANTE working group on microbiological criteria, and has also participated in the ECDC's European Listeria Typing Exercise (ELiTE).
He has contributed to the design of shelf-life studies and predictive models of bacterial growth in food, also serving as Principal Investigator in EU-funded research projects such as Listeriapredict and NOVA.
Since 2024, he has been Head of the Animal Breeding and Experimental Research Unit, where he oversees the management of animals housed at the IZS Teramo animal facilities and supervises activities related to animal experimentation.
His current research focuses on the effects of stress on the microbiological contamination of meat.
He has taken part in numerous training initiatives, both nationally and internationally, particularly in EU- and WOAH-funded twinning projects on food safety and animal welfare (including missions in North Macedonia, South Africa, and Tunisia).
He coordinated the animal welfare working group within the ERFAN project (Enhancing Research For Africa Network) and currently serves as a technical expert for the European Union Reference Centre for the Welfare of Ruminants and Equines. He is also involved—sometimes as task leader—in four animal welfare projects under the EU-Horizon programme, within the European Partnership for Animal Health and Welfare.
He is the author of more than 50 publications in international scientific journals and has an H-index of 13.
