Azienda Ospedaliero-
Universitaria di Parma
General Information
The Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria of Parma was born in the medieval era. It is a highly specialized structure which integrates university and hospital functions, operating in the assistance, research and teaching fields. It is organised in 6 departments, is structured around 28 buildings and features a leading TechnoPole for research (Core-Lab), which includes 7 laboratories with cutting-edge equipment.
The hospital has 1047 beds, 3,850 staff units and about 171 teaching staff units.
Specifically, the Unit of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology in Parma is a national referral center for the clinical management of chronic viral infections, particularly HBV and HCV hepatitis, attracting a large number of patients at regional and inter-regional level. It is organized with two separate wards (31 beds), a day hospital (9 beds), an outpatient clinic for hepatitis virus infections and laboratory facilities. The Unit is fully equipped for hepatic needle biopsies, diagnostic and interventional ultrasound and for immunological and molecular biology studies. The inpatient facilities of the entire Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria of Parma are likewise available to Dr. Boni, including the centralized clinical and research laboratories and the full spectrum of consultative clinical services.

Role in TherVacB
In this project, the Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria of Parma will contribute to the immunological monitoring of TherVacB, in particular the study of HBV-specific adaptive responses, and will help to establish novel biomarkers to assess and predict the effect of a novel immune therapies. Specific task of the Unit in Parma will be to characterize phenotypic, metabolic, transcriptional and functional profiles of HBV-specific CD8 T cells. In addition, the University Hospital of Parma will contribute to the recruitment of patients with chronic hepatitis B to be treated with TherVacB.
Project Staff

Carolina Boni
Physician and Adjunct Professor
Her research is mostly focused on the characterization of the immune mechanisms responsible for viral persistence and liver damage in chronic HBV infection with the final objective of developing new immune therapeutic strategies for chronically infected patients.
Diletta Laccabue
Clinical Research Coordinator at the Unit of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology
She supports the clinical staff in the conduction, according to ICH-GCP, of phase II, III, IV and observational clinical studies, profit and no-profit, national and international.
Carlo Ferrari
Professor & Director of the Unit of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology and Laboratory of Viral Immunopathology
His overall scientific career has been focused on the study of the immunopathogenesis of viral hepatitis with the final objective of developing novel therapeutic strategies for chronic viral infections.
Amalia Penna
Biologist
She will focus on the characterization of the mechanisms responsible for the unresponsiveness of HBV- and HCV-specific T cells in patients with chronic infection and for the functional recovery of the immune cells during antiviral therapy.