ROMEO BELLINI

Romeo Bellini (Ph.D. in Entomology at the University of Bologna) is currently covering the position of Director of the Medical & Veterinary Entomology Dept. at the Centro Agricoltura Ambiente “G.Nicoli” (http://www.caa.it). He is the scientific responsible for the IAEA Collaborating Centre established in the 2012 at the CAA. He recently (2014) obtained the Italian national qualification of full Professor in Plant Pathology & Entomology. He has 30 years of experience in mosquito ecology studies and management of mosquito control programs in Italy. He has been coordinator of the EU-LIFE program 1994-’96 "Environmental friendly management of tourist areas on the Emilia-Romagna Riviera” and WP 10 leader in the FP7 Infrastructure project “Research capacity for the implementation of genetic control of mosquitoes-INFRAVEC”. Currently he is in charge of supervising and coordinating laboratory and field activities of a team of 7 full-time and 5 part-time technicians. He is author of 98 referred scientific publications and 69 other publications; 62 oral and 64 poster presentations in international scientific meetings. He is serving as a peer reviewer for Acta Tropica, Bulletin of Entomological Research, Journal of Medical Entomology, Journal of Vector Ecology, Journal of American Mosquito Control Association, Bulletin of Insectology, Medical and Veterinary Entomology, Journal of Applied Ecology, Parasites & Vectors, PLoS Neglected Tropical Disease, Pathogens and Global Health, Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. He served as a European Director of the Society for Vector Ecology (1998-’99) and the Italian Director of the European Mosquito Control Association (2003-’05). He is member of the most important scientific societies in the field of medical entomology such as AMCA, ESA, SOIPA, SOVE. His scientific interests have been focused on the developing of mosquito and other vectors surveillance and monitoring methods, followed by the implementation of control strategies at low environmental impact and with no sanitary risks. He has been very active in the implementation of biological mosquito control in Italy using Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis formulations and fishes (Gambusia holbrooki, Aphanius fasciatus); in the standardization of reliable mosquito monitoring methods; in testing new products and tools for mosquito control. Following the introduction of Aedes albopictus in Italy (1990) he has been involved in studying the ecology of the species in the new habitats and developing specific control measures including source reduction, larval control, community participation. In the year 2000 he started investigating the application of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) against Ae. albopictus. Recently he is also interested in the surveillance and risk assessment of emerging vector borne diseases in Europe. He is providing expertise consultations to international bodies such as World Health Organization (WHO) Europe, European Centre for Diseases Prevention and Control (ECDC), European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).