
Mauro D'Amato obtained his BSc in Biology from the University of Rome La Sapienza in Rome and continued his scientific pursuits by completing his PhD in Cell and Molecular Pathology from the University of Naples Federico II (Naples) and the National Research Council (Rome), Italy.
Dr. D'Amato's extensive academic and research career began with a postdoctoral stage in genetics of autophagy at the University Tor Vergata of Rome, followed by another postdoctoral period specializing in asthma genetics at The Wellcome Trust Center for Human Genetics in Oxford from 1999-2000.
In 2001, he began developing an independent profile at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, where he held academic and research positions at the Department of Microbiology and Tumor Biology (Junior PI and Group Leader, 2003 – 2007) and the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition (Associate Professor and Group Leader, 2007 – 2015). During these years, he also acted as a Scientific Advisor for InDex Pharmaceuticals AB in Stockholm.
Dr. D'Amato subsequently relocated to Spain, where he served as an Ikerbasque Research Professor and Head of the Gastrointestinal Genetics Lab at Biocruces HRI in Bilbao from 2015 to 2016, and at Biodonostia HRI in San Sebastian from 2016 to 2018.
In 2021, Dr. D'Amato joined CIC bioGUNE as an Ikerbasque Research Professor and Group Leader of the Gastrointestinal Genetics Lab. His laboratory conducts translational research aimed at precise therapeutics in gastroenterology. Our international team integrates expertise in genomics, computational analysis, and pre-clinical studies to pinpoint causal genes and pathogenic mechanisms underlying gastrointestinal (GI) diseases. We focus on conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gut dysmotility, microscopic colitis (MC), inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), gastroparesis (Gp), and other GI disorders. Our research also delves into nutrigenetics and the interactions between diet, genome, and gut microbiome, particularly in IBS and carbohydrate malabsorption.
Additionally, he was a Guest Professor at the Karolinska Institutet's Department of Medicine Solna from 2017 to 2021. At Monash University, he held positions as Professor of Genetics and Genomics from 2019 to 2020, and later as Adjunct Professor in 2021. Since 2021, he has also served as Professor of Medical Genetics at LUM University in Italy.
Dr. D'Amato has 20 years of research experience, has supervised over 40 PhD students and postdocs, and has taught genetics at University La Sapienza, Karolinska Institutet, and Monash University. He has formal training in leadership, management, and academic teaching from Karolinska and Monash. He provides expert feedback to international funding agencies and academic committees, reviews for several international journals, and serves on multiple boards and executive committees. Dr. D’Amato has edited 2 books and published extensively in human genetics and GI disease, often in top journals like Nature, NEJM, Cell, Lancet, Nature Genetics, Nature Immunology, Gut, and Gastroenterology.
Latest Publications
2023
Research in the Gastrointestinal Genetics Lab is geared toward a translational application for therapeutic precision in gastroenterology. Our international team combines leading expertise in genomic, computational and pre-clinical research to identify causative genes and pathogenetic mechanisms predisposing to human diseases of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We focus on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and gut dysmotility, microscopic colitis (MC), inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), gastroparesis (Gp) and other GI conditions. Nutrigenetics and diet-genome-metagenome interactions are also at the core of our research, in IBS and carbohydrate malabsorption.
Research line 1: Genetics of carbs malabsorption in IBS
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects one in ten people with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms that are detected without an established underlying organic cause. Many patients believe certain foods trigger their symptoms, and avoidance of carbohydrates due to perceived maldigestion is common. Out studies suggest that a subgroup of patients may be identified, characterized by an otherwise unrecognized carbohydrate malabsorption due to defective (hypomoprhic) variants of the sucrase-isomaltase gene (SI), which leads to accumulation of undigested disaccharides in the large bowel (where they cause symptoms due to osmotic diarrhea and gas production following bacterial fermentation). This fuelled new interest into the relationship between food and IBS and warrants investigation of other genes involved in the process of carbohydrate digestion (among the main activities of the GenMalCarb consortium we co-lead).
Research line 2: Biobank-scale GWA studies of IBS
A heritable component of IBS has been consistently demonstrated in twin and family studies, and we apply modern approaches to IBS large-scale genetic studies in the general population. For this purpose, we conceived, promoted, developed an coordinate an international collaboration (the bellygenes initiative) to exploit existing genotype and phenotype data from several biobanks, corresponding to a target population of several million Europeans. Through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and their meta-analyses (including several thousand IBS patients identified via questionnaire data and/or healthcare records across multiple cohorts) we identify IBS risk loci and reveal shared genetic architecture with other common disorders. Our studies contribute to the identification of pathophysiological mechanisms that may inform a molecular reclassification of IBS, and hence ultimately provide novel therapeutic targets.
Research line 3: GWAS of gut motility and other endophenotypes
There is only incomplete understanding of the physiological mechanisms regulating intestinal motility, and their perturbation in the dysmotility syndromes like IBS. Direct assessment of gastrointestinal motility in humans requires clinical procedures that are not suitable for large-scale genetic surveys, and we use an endophenotype approach to gene discovery in population-based cohorts and biobanks. Based on questionnaire data and recorded bowel habits, we study stool frequency and consistency (recognized proxies for colonic transit time) to gain insight into the (patho)physiology of gut dysmotility and IBS, via GWAS meta-analyses across millions of individuals of European descent. Functional annotation downstream these GWAS allows the identification of pathways and cell types involved in the control of gut motility, revealing therapeutically actionable mechanisms that may be targeted for the delineation of novel treatment options.
Collaborations
Fundamental to the development of our research (and the bellygenes initiative we coordinate), we have established a large network of collaboration, involving > 50 biobanks, cohorts, clinicians, scientists, and institutions across the world.
Links
Webpage: https://www.mdalabgenomics.com/
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Leire Torices Cabarcos
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Cristina Esteban Blanco
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Cristian Díaz Muñoz
TECHNICIANS / DOCTORAL CANDIDATES -
Andreea Zamfir Taranu
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Francisco Heredia Fernandez
Members
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERLatest Publications
Granno, Olle; Bergemalm, Daniel; Salomon, Benita; Lindqvist, Carl Marten; Hedin, Charlotte R H; Carlson, Marie; Dannenberg, Katharina; Andersson, Erik; Keita, Asa V; Magnusson, Maria K; Eriksson, ...
Gastroenterology
2024-11-21
Aldiss, Peter; Torices, Leire; Ramne, Stina; Jorgensen, Marit Eika; Sucrase-Isomaltase Working Group; DAmato, Mauro; Andersen, Mette K; Bonfiglio, Ferdinando; Burm, Hayley; Esteban Blanco, Cristina; ...
Gastroenterology
2024-11-11
Zheng, TH; Tavares, LC; DAmato, M; Marques, FZ;
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-HEART AND CIRCULATORY PHYSIOLOGY
2024-10-16
Zamfir-Taranu, Andreea; Loscher, Britt-Sabina; Carbone, Florencia; Hoter, Abdullah; Esteban Blanco, Cristina; Bozzarelli, Isotta; Torices, Leire; Routhiaux, Karen; Van den Houte, Karen; Bonfiglio, ...
Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association
2024-10-14
Izagirre, Arantzazu; Sarasqueta, Cristina; Flores-Arriaga, Joel; Aso, Maria C; Perez Perez, Maria; Tack, Jan; Huang, I-Hsuan; Sperber, Ami D; Palsson, Olafur S; Bangdiwala, Shrikant I; DAmato, ...
The American journal of gastroenterology
2024-09-25
Roth, B; Nseir, M; Jeppsson, H; DAmato, M; Sundquist, K; Ohlsson, B;
NUTRIENTS
2024-09-09
Lundström, ML; Peterson, C; Hedin, CRH; Bergemalm, D; Lampinen, M; Magnusson, MK; Keita, AV; Kruse, R; Lindqvist, CM; Repsilber, D; DAmato, M; Hjortswang, H; Strid, H; Soederholm, JD; Öhman, ...
ALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS
2024-07-12
Torices, L; Esteban-Blanco, C; Bozzarelli, I; Zamfir-Taranu, A; Bonfiglio, F; DAmato, M;
GUT
2024-07-05
Salihovic, S; Nyström, N; Mathisen, CBW; Kruse, R; Olbjorn, C; Andersen, S; Noble, AJ; Dorn-Rasmussen, M; Bazov, I; Perminow, G; Opheim, R; Detlie, TE; Huppertz-Hauss, G; Hedin, CRH; Carlson, ...
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
2024-06-03
Tavares, LC; Lopera-Maya, EA; Bonfiglio, F; Zheng, TH; Sinha, T; Marques, FZ; Zhernakova, A; Sanna, S; DAmato, M;
CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY
2024-04-19
Zheng, TH; Roda, G; Zabana, Y; Escudero-Hernández, C; Liu, XR; Chen, Y; Tavares, LC; Bonfiglio, F; Mellander, MR; Janczewska, I; Vigren, L; Sjöberg, K; Ohlsson, B; Almer, S; Halfvarson, J; Miehlke, ...
JOURNAL OF CROHNS & COLITIS
2024-03-01
Constantinescu, AE; Bull, CJ; Jones, N; Mitchell, R; Burrows, K; Dimou, N; Bézieau, S; Brenner, H; Buchanan, DD; DAmato, M; Jenkins, MA; Moreno, V; Pai, RK; Um, CY; White, E; Murphy, N; Gunter, ...
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER
2023-01-01
Garcia-Etxebarria, K; Gayoso, L; Arzallus, T; Montalvo, I; Lizasoain, J; Izagirre, A; Ezkurra, A; DAmato, M; Etxeberria, U; Bujanda, L;
FRONTIERS IN NUTRITION
2023-10-26
Juzenas, S; Ellinghaus, D; Sanna, S; Franke, A; DAmato, M;
GUT
2023-10-09
Thomas, M; Su, YR; Rosenthal, EA; Sakoda, LC; Schmit, SL; Timofeeva, MN; Chen, Z; Fernandez-Rozadilla, C; Law, PJ; Murphy, N; Carreras-Torres, R; Diez-Obrero, V; van Duijnhoven, FJB; Jiang, ...
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
2023-10-02
Garcia-Etxebarria, K; Etxart, A; Barrero, M; Nafria, B; Merino, NM; Romero-Garmendia, I; Goel, A; Franke, A; DAmato, M; Bujanda, L;
CANCERS
2023-10-01
Tavares, LC; Zheng, TH; Kwicklis, M; Mitchell, E; Pandit, A; Pullapantula, S; Bernard, C; Teder-Laving, M; Marques, FZ; Esko, T; Kuo, BD; Shulman, RJ; Chumpitazi, BP; Koch, KL; Sarosiek, I; ...
UNITED EUROPEAN GASTROENTEROLOGY JOURNAL
2023-09-08
Zamfir-Taranu, A; Löcher, BS; Husein, DM; Hoter, A; Garcia-Etxebarria, K; Etxeberria, U; Gayoso, L; Mayr, G; Nilholm, C; Gustafsson, RJ; Ozaydin, O; Zheng, TH; Esteban-Blanco, C; Bozzarelli, ...
GUT
2023-03-06
Mathisen, CBW; Nyström, N; Bazov, I; Andersen, S; Olbjorn, C; Perminow, G; Kristensen, VA; Opheim, R; Ricanek, P; DAmato, M; Carlson, M; Hedin, CR; Keita, AV; Kruse, R; Lindqvist, CM; Magnusson, ...
JOURNAL OF CROHNS & COLITIS
2023-02-01
Gayoso, L; Garcia-Etxebarria, K; Arzallus, T; Montalvo, I; Lizasoain, J; DAmato, M; Etxeberria, U; Bujanda, L;
THERAPEUTIC ADVANCES IN GASTROENTEROLOGY
2023-01-01