Alessio Bortolami
ESVP-ECVP Congress
ABortolami@izsvenezie.it
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In 2012, he graduated in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Padua, where he also obtained a PhD in Veterinary Sciences in 2016. From 2015 to 2018, he completed a residency in Veterinary Microbiology at the Department of Veterinary Pathology and Public Health, University of Liverpool. In 2019, he became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists. In 2020, he obtained a Specialization degree in ‘Animal Health, Breeding and Zootechnical Production’ at the University of Padua.
His professional and research activities have focused on virology, with an emphasis on emerging viral pathogens of zoonotic and veterinary importance. Since 2019, he has been involved in the study of viral pathogenesis, particularly of avian influenza viruses. His work includes the development and application of in vitro systems for viral phenotype characterization, studies on zoonotic potential and transmissibility, and evaluation of vaccine efficacy—especially next-generation vaccines targeting viral diseases in poultry.
He has contributed to the development and validation of serological methods for the diagnosis and surveillance of poultry diseases, including avian influenza and Newcastle disease. These methods are used to support disease monitoring programs and outbreak investigations at the national and international levels.
Since 2023, he has been the supervisor of the Laboratory of Diagnostic Virology at the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe). The laboratory functions as the National, European Union, and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza and Newcastle Disease. In this role, he is responsible for the coordination of diagnostic activities, method development, and participation in international collaborative projects.
His work supports reference laboratory functions, including confirmatory diagnostics, inter-laboratory testing, training, and technical support for national and international stakeholders. He contributes to risk assessments and scientific opinions on avian viruses, and participates in expert groups and scientific networks.
He is the author or co-author of several peer-reviewed scientific publications in the fields of veterinary virology, microbiology, and infectious disease epidemiology. He regularly participates in national and international scientific conferences and is involved in collaborative research projects with academic, governmental, and international organizations.
His areas of expertise include veterinary virology, viral diagnostics, zoonotic diseases, avian pathology, and vaccine research. He combines academic research with applied laboratory diagnostics and public health activities, contributing to the prevention and control of infectious diseases in animal populations and at the animal-human interface.
