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Elisa Crisci

Asst Professor

CVM Main Building B336

Bio

Dr. Elisa Crisci studied Veterinary Medicine at the University of Bologna (Italy) and during the last years she joined the pathology department to participate in the immunopathology course. She became interested in virology and pigs during her final degree project when studying porcine circovirosis. After earning her DVM, she applied for a scholarship for an internship period at the Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CRESA), an animal health research institute in Barcelona, Spain.

While in Spain, Crisci earned her MSc and PhD in Veterinary Health and Medicine at CRESA, focusing her studies mainly on virus-like particles as vaccine vectors for animal viral diseases and animal host-virus interactions.

During her PhD, she worked with different porcine viruses including circovirus, influenza virus (FLU), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) and classical swine fever. Additionally, thanks to CRESA she also acquired experience allowing her to work under high biosafety level conditions with Biolevel 3 zoonotic pathogens. Crisci also worked in applied virology with different companies, to develop the safety study for a viral vaccine (Fort Dodge), to set up experimental viral infection (HIPRA) and to study an immunomodulatory compound (Maymo) to improve porcine industry. During this period, she was working in contact with stakeholders and commercial industry trying to develop the research and the collaboration in porcine production. During her doctorate, Crisci performed several internships to gain skills in virology and immunology, in particular in Scotland, Belgium and Australia.

After completing her PhD, Crisci spent further time at CRESA using the pig as a large animal model for immune cell therapy performing in vivo dendritic cell tracking.
In February 2013, she moved to Sweden to work in human virology at the molecular virology division of Linköping University (LIU). There she investigated mainly the interaction between human viruses, innate immune cells and complement system as well as gained skills to analyze virus-host relationship at a more detailed level using new generation sequencing. At LIU, Crisci was involved in the academic environment and was able to gain experience in teaching and training DM and graduate students.
The experience at IKE department with various cutting edge genomics methodologies and knowledgeable human virologists and immunologists inspirited her to apply similar technology to veterinary science.
For that reason, in 2017, she moved back to her “first love” and joined INRA, the French public research institute dedicated to agricultural science in Jouy-en-Josas (Paris, France). There she again studied pig viruses, in particular PRRSV infection in lung innate immune cells.

Crisci joined the faculty at the College of Veterinary Medicine of North Carolina State University as an Assistant Professor in Virology. She defines herelf as a swine “viro-immunologist” and her research will address the virus-host interactions in porcine diseases with a focus on Influenza virus and PRRSV.

AFFILIATIONS

North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association (NCVMA) since 2019.

American Association of Veterinary Immunologists since 2019.

World Society of Virology (WSV) since 2019.

American Society of Virology (ASV) since 2018.

Conference of research workers in animal diseases (CRWAD) since 2018.

American Association of Immunologists (AAI) 2018, 2019.

North Carolina Veterinary Medical Board (NCVMB), Faculty Certificate number FC53725 since 2018.

Italian Veterinary board (FNOVI-OMV Gorizia) since 2015.

Swedish Veterinary board (Jordbruksverket) since 2015.

Swedish Society for Virology (SSV) since 2014.

Spanish Immunology Society (SEI) from 2006 till 2014.

CERTIFICATIONS

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) with European Mention on “Animal Health and Medicine”, in Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) (Spain), Veterinary Faculty.

Master of Science (MSc) with European Mention in “Veterinary and Alimentary Science Research” in Veterinary Faculty of Barcelona Autónoma University (UAB) (Spain).

Degree in Veterinary Medicine in the University of Bologna (Italy) (DVM). 110/110 et laude (Honours degree).

RESEARCH EMPHASIS

GLOBAL HEALTH, IMMUNOLOGY, INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Pig virology, immunology

Publications

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