Velia Malizia
+39-0916809100 |+39-3389519762 | velia.malizia@cnr.it

Institute
Institute of Translational Pharmacology (IFT)
Via Ugo La Malfa, 153 – 90146 Palermo

• Stefania La Grutta (MD, PhD, Senior Associate Researcher) | stefania.lagrutta@cnr.it
•  Elisabetta Pace (MD, Research Director) | elisabetta.pace@cnr.it,
• Mirella Profita (Senior Researcher, Molecular Biologist) | mirella.profita@cnr.it
•  Rosalia Gagliardo (Senior Researcher, Molecular Biologist) | rosaliapaola.gagliardo@cnr.it
•  Giusy Daniela Albano (PhD, researcher level II) | giusydaniela.albano@cnr.it
•  Angela Marina Montalbano (Researcher level III) | angelamarina.montalbano@cnr.it
•  Andrea Perri (PhD Student, Data Scientist) | andrea.perri@ift.cnr.it
•  Alessandra Pandolfo (PhD Student, Biostatistician) | alessandra.pandolfo@ift.cnr.it
• Valentina Lazzara (PhD Student, Biostatistician and Molecular Biologist) | valentina.lazzara@ift.cnr.it
• Giustino Carlino (PhD Student, Economic Statistician) | giustino.carlino@community.unipa.it
• Pietro Alfano (PhD, clinical psychologist) | pietro.alfano@ift.cnr.it

The Clinical and Environmental Epidemiology of Pediatric Airway Diseases (ECAMPAP) research group conducts multidisciplinary research aimed at understanding the determinants, mechanisms, and long-term trajectories of respiratory and allergic diseases across childhood and adolescence, translating scientific evidence into clinical practice and public health strategies.

The group has consolidated expertise in clinical and environmental epidemiology, advanced biostatistics, Bayesian inference, longitudinal data analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and the management of complex clinical and environmental databases. Particular emphasis is placed on the integration of epidemiological, clinical, biological, functional, exposomic, and environmental data to investigate disease phenotypes, biomarkers, environmental risk factors, and precision prevention strategies.

By combining translational medicine with advanced data analytics and computational modeling, the group develops innovative approaches for personalized respiratory medicine, environmental health research, digital health, and evidence-based decision support in both clinical and population settings.

• Stanisci I, Perri A, Baldacci S, Maio S, Sarno G, Tagliaferro S, Malizia V, Profita M, Alfano P, Sapienza F, Viegi G, La Grutta S. Air pollution and cause-specific mortality in EU: a review integrating meta-analysis and meta-regression. Sci Rep. 2026 Jun 18. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-57501-6.
• Malizia V, Montalbano AM, Bonomolo A, Alfano P, Sapienza F, Stanisci I, Grutta S, Profita M. Obesity, Air Pollution, and Epigenetic Modifications as Risk Factors for Asthma Phenotypes. Int J Mol Sci. 2026 May 13;27(10):4350. doi: 10.3390/ijms27104350.
• Cilluffo, G., Atzeni, M., Malizia, V. et al. Machine learning approaches for asthma exacerbation predictions: a systematic review. Artif Intell Rev 59, 122 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10462-026-11536-3
• Manna OM, Malizia V, Perri A, La Grutta S, Fucarino A, Picone D, Profita M, Bucchieri F, Rappa F, Gagliardo R. Crystalline Insights into Nasal Mucosa Inflammation and Remodeling: Unveiling Role of Galectin-10. Biomolecules. 2026 Jan 3;16(1):77. doi: 10.3390/biom16010077.
• Tagliaferro S, Maio S, Pirona F, Stanisci I, Sarno G, Silvi P, Kermenidou M, Papaioannou N, Perchard R, Prpic I, Polanska K, Jerzynska J, Ramos E, Rovira J, Belmonte J, Snoj Tratnik JS, Horvat M, Kocman D, Spiric Z, Zickella J, Fasola S, La Grutta S, Malizia V, Montalbano L; EarlyFOOD; HEALS EXHES; Baldacci S, Annesi-Maesano I.  Assessing external exposome by implementing an Environmental Data Management System using Open Data. Sci Rep. 2024 Jul 26;14(1):17142. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-62924-0.
• Cilluffo G, Ferrante G, Fasola S, Malizia V, Montalbano L, Ranzi A, Badaloni C, Viegi G, La Grutta S (2022). Association between Asthma Control and Exposure to Greenness and Other Outdoor and Indoor Environmental Factors: A Longitudinal Study on a Cohort of Asthmatic Children. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH, vol. 19, ISSN: 1660-4601, doi: 10.3390/ijerph19010512

Advanced epidemiological study design, clinical and environmental database management (REDCap), computational epidemiology, longitudinal and multilevel modelling, Bayesian statistics and causal inference, machine learning, artificial intelligence and predictive modelling, systematic reviews, evidence synthesis, meta-analysis, meta-regression and GRADE methodology, natural language processing, topic modeling and bibliometric analytics, environmental exposure assessment (GIS, Open Data, Exposome), respiratory function assessment (spirometry, oscillometry, FeNO), digital health and real-world data platforms, statistical programming and reproducible research workflows (R, Python, STATA).

Clinical Epidemiology, Environmental Epidemiology, Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Exposome Research, Biostatistics, Artificial Intelligence, Digital Health, Translational Medicine, Precision Prevention.