Prof. Francesco Donato was born in 1954. He has a University degree in Medicine and post-doctoral degrees in Public Health and Medical Statistics. He is Full Professor and Head of the Unit of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health, at the University of Brescia, Italy. He has been Head of the Epidemiology Unit and of the Cancer Registry of Brescia in the Local Health Authority of Brescia, Italy. As a medical researcher and epidemiologist, he has carried out several descriptive and analytical studies on cancer epidemiology and prevention, particularly as regards viral hepatitis infections and aetiology of liver cancer, and aetiology and prevention of other chronic diseases, particularly as regards the role of environmental chemicals, infectious agents and lifestyle.
He has coordinated various national and international projects and at present he is scientific coordinator of the “Monitoring air pollution effects on children for supporting Public Health Policy”, a multicentre project on early biological effects of air pollution on children funded by EU under the LIFE+ Environment Policy & Governance 2012.
He has 216 articles published in national and international journals, most of which with impact factor, with an overall Hirsch index of 40 according to Scopus, and has presented more than 200 communications at national and international meetings. He wrote 15 chapters in epidemiologic and public health books and he is co-editor for 2 handbooks of epidemiology.
He currently holds several University courses in Epidemiology, Public Health and Preventive Medicine in schools for health professionals, including doctoral and post-doctoral medical schools at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Brescia.
He is the Director of the School of Specialization in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine of the University of Brescia.