Swiss and Italian paediatrician, geneticist and molecular biologist
Professor
Andrea Superti-Furga
Andrea Superti-Furga in 2021
Born 1959 (age 64–65) Citizenship Swiss and Italian Education Medicine Alma mater
University of Milan ,
University of Genoa ,
University of Zurich ,
University of Freiburg Spouse Sheila Unger Awards 2015 Maroteaux Award, 2002
Cloëtta Prize Scientific career Fields
Genetics ,
paediatrics , medicine Institutions
University of Lausanne ,
Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV)
Thesis Banca di cellule umane mutanti (University of Genoa) (1984)
Doctoral advisor
Paolo Durand Other academic advisors
Victor McKusick ,
Andrea Prader ,
Andres Giedion , Richard Gitzelmann, Beat Steinmann, Sergio Fanconi
Website
www .chuv .ch /fr /medecine-genetique /gen-home
Andrea Superti-Furga (born 1959 in Milan) is a
Swiss -Italian
pediatrician ,
geneticist and molecular biologist. He is the head of the Division of Genetic Medicine at the
Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and a professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Biology of the
University of Lausanne .
[1]
[2]
Career
Superti-Furga was educated at the
German School of Milan in Milan, where he obtained his Abitur in 1978. He studied medicine at the Universities of
Milan ,
Genoa , and
Zurich , and obtained his MD degrees from
Genoa in 1984 and from Zurich in 1992.
[3] During his studies he has been mentored by Paolo Durand,
[4]
Victor McKusick ,
Andrea Prader ,
[5]
Andres Giedion ,
[6] Richard Gitzelmann,
[7] Beat Steinmann,
[8] and Sergio Fanconi.
[9] He worked with Francesco Ramirez on genetic diseases in both Zurich and New York.
[10] In 2002, he was appointed professor for Molecular Pediatrics at the
University of Lausanne , before moving as a professor and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics to the
University of Freiburg , Germany in 2005. In 2010, he was awarded the Leenaards Chair of Excellence in Pediatrics at the
University of Lausanne .
[3] From 2014 to 2015, he was director of the Department of Pediatrics in Lausanne. Since 2016, he has been professor and head of the Division of Genetic Medicine at the
Lausanne University Hospital , Switzerland.
[11]
Research
Superti-Furga's research activities have been focused on
inborn errors of metabolism , inherited disorders of connective tissue, genetic bone disorders and
skeletal dysplasias ,
dysmorphology , neurodevelopment, and
bioinformatics . He was involved in the discovery of the molecular and biochemical basis of genetic disorders, such as the
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV related to collagen type III,
[8] the
sulfate transporter (SLC26A2 )-related chondrodysplasias,
[12] the
TBX15 -related
Cousin syndrome ,
[13] the
FAM111A -related disorders
Kenny-Caffey syndrome and Osteocraniostenosis,
[14] the
tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (ACP5 )-related spondyloenchondrodysplasia,
[15] the
SFRP4 -related Pyle disease,
[16] the
HSPA9 -related EVEN-PLUS syndrome,
[17]
[18]
sialic acid deficiency related to
NANS
[19] and the malformation disorders related to
EN1 (gene) and the EN1 -regulating lncRNA element, MAENLI .
[20]
According to Google Scholar, Superti-Furga has published more than 300 articles and holds an h-index of 79 (February 2022).
[21]
Personal life
Superti-Furga is married to Sheila Unger, geneticist at the
Lausanne University Hospital . He is the brother of
Giulio Superti-Furga , a molecular and system biologist, director of the Center for Molecular Medicine in Vienna.
[22]
Distinctions
He is the recipient of the 2015 Maroteaux Award of the International Skeletal Dysplasia Society,
[23] the 2002
Cloëtta Prize by the Max Cloëtta Foundation,
[24] and the 1995 Georg-Friedrich Götz prize of the Medical School of the University of Zurich.
[23] In 2008, he was Santa Chiara visiting chair at
University of Siena 's School of Medicine.
[25]
He is a member of the executive board of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (SAMW),
[26] and member of the German National
Academy of Sciences Leopoldina .
[27] He is president of the committee for pediatrics of the Pfizer Prize Foundation
[28] as well as member of the scientific board of the Novartis Foundation for Medical-Biological Research.
[29]
Selected works
Papers
Superti-Furga, Andrea; Hästbacka, Johanna; Wilcox, William R.; Cohn, Daniel H.; van der Harten, Hans J.; Rossi, Antonio; Blau, Nenad; Rimoin, David L.; Steinmann, Beat; Lander, Eric S.; Gitzelmann, Richard (January 1996). "Achondrogenesis type IB is caused by mutations in the diastrophic dysplasia sulphate transporter gene". Nature Genetics . 12 (1): 100–102.
doi :
10.1038/ng0196-100 .
ISSN
1061-4036 .
PMID
8528239 .
S2CID
31143438 .
Pepin, Melanie; Schwarze, Ulrike; Superti-Furga, Andrea; Byers, Peter H. (9 March 2000).
"Clinical and Genetic Features of Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome Type IV, the Vascular Type" . New England Journal of Medicine . 342 (10): 673–680.
doi :
10.1056/nejm200003093421001 .
ISSN
0028-4793 .
PMID
10706896 .
Lausch, Ekkehart; Hermanns, Pia; Farin, Henner F.; Alanay, Yasemin; Unger, Sheila; Nikkel, Sarah; Steinwender, Christoph; Scherer, Gerd; Spranger, Jürgen; Zabel, Bernhard; Kispert, Andreas; Superti-Furga, Andrea (November 2008).
"TBX15 Mutations Cause Craniofacial Dysmorphism, Hypoplasia of Scapula and Pelvis, and Short Stature in Cousin Syndrome" . The American Journal of Human Genetics . 83 (5): 649–655.
doi :
10.1016/j.ajhg.2008.10.011 .
ISSN
0002-9297 .
PMC
2668032 .
PMID
19068278 .
Lausch, Ekkehart; Janecke, Andreas; Bros, Matthias; Trojandt, Stefanie; Alanay, Yasemin; De Laet, Corinne; Hübner, Christian A; Meinecke, Peter; Nishimura, Gen; Matsuo, Mari; Hirano, Yoshiko (9 January 2011). "Genetic deficiency of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase associated with skeletal dysplasia, cerebral calcifications and autoimmunity". Nature Genetics . 43 (2): 132–137.
doi :
10.1038/ng.749 .
ISSN
1061-4036 .
PMID
21217752 .
S2CID
205357235 .
Vissers, Lisenka E.L.M.; Lausch, Ekkehart; Unger, Sheila; Campos-Xavier, Ana Belinda; Gilissen, Christian; Rossi, Antonio; Del Rosario, Marisol; Venselaar, Hanka; Knoll, Ute; Nampoothiri, Sheela; Nair, Mohandas (May 2011).
"Chondrodysplasia and Abnormal Joint Development Associated with Mutations in IMPAD1, Encoding the Golgi-Resident Nucleotide Phosphatase, gPAPP" . The American Journal of Human Genetics . 88 (5): 608–615.
doi :
10.1016/j.ajhg.2011.04.002 .
ISSN
0002-9297 .
PMC
3146727 .
PMID
21549340 .
Unger, Sheila; Górna, Maria W.; Le Béchec, Antony; Do Vale-Pereira, Sonia; Bedeschi, Maria Francesca; Geiberger, Stefan; Grigelioniene, Giedre; Horemuzova, Eva; Lalatta, Faustina; Lausch, Ekkehart; Magnani, Cinzia (June 2013).
"FAM111A Mutations Result in Hypoparathyroidism and Impaired Skeletal Development" . The American Journal of Human Genetics . 92 (6): 990–995.
doi :
10.1016/j.ajhg.2013.04.020 .
ISSN
0002-9297 .
PMC
3675238 .
PMID
23684011 .
van Karnebeek, Clara D M; Bonafé, Luisa; Wen, Xiao-Yan; Tarailo-Graovac, Maja; Balzano, Sara; Royer-Bertrand, Beryl; Ashikov, Angel; Garavelli, Livia; Mammi, Isabella; Turolla, Licia; Breen, Catherine (23 May 2016).
"NANS-mediated synthesis of sialic acid is required for brain and skeletal development" (PDF) . Nature Genetics . 48 (7): 777–784.
doi :
10.1038/ng.3578 .
ISSN
1061-4036 .
PMID
27213289 .
S2CID
24953080 .
Simsek Kiper, Pelin O.; Saito, Hiroaki; Gori, Francesca; Unger, Sheila; Hesse, Eric; Yamana, Kei; Kiviranta, Riku; Solban, Nicolas; Liu, Jeff; Brommage, Robert; Boduroglu, Koray (30 June 2016).
"Cortical-Bone Fragility — Insights from sFRP4 Deficiency in Pyle's Disease" . New England Journal of Medicine . 374 (26): 2553–2562.
doi :
10.1056/nejmoa1509342 .
ISSN
0028-4793 .
PMC
5070790 .
PMID
27355534 .
Books
References
^
"Au chevet des Romands – Toute une galaxie veille sur les jeunes malades" . 24 heures (in French). 2 May 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021 .
^
"Nomination du Prof. Andrea Superti-Furga" . news.unil.ch . Retrieved 20 August 2021 .
^
a
b
"Prof. Andrea Superti Furga, Switzerland | RE-ACT Congress" . www.react-congress.org . Retrieved 20 August 2021 .
^ Di Rocco, M.; Superti-Furga, A.; Durand, P.; Cerone, R.; Romano, C.; Bachmann, C.; Baumgartner, R. (1984), Addison, G. M.; Chalmers, R. A.; Divry, P.; Harkness, R. A. (eds.), "Different Organic Acid Patterns in Urine and in Cerebrospinal Fluid in a Patient with Biotinidase Deficiency", Organic Acidurias: Proceedings of the 21st Annual Symposium of the SSIEM, Lyon, September 1983 The combined supplements 1 and 2 of Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease Volume 7 (1984) , vol. 7, no. Suppl 2, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 119–120,
doi :
10.1007/978-94-009-5612-4_34 ,
ISBN
978-94-009-5612-4 ,
PMID
6434860
^ Hunziker, U. A.; Superti-Furga, A.; Zachmann, M.; Del Pozo, E.; Shmerling, D.; Prader, A. (August 1988).
"Effects of the long-acting somatostatin analogue SMS 201–995 in an infant with intractable diarrhea" . Helvetica Paediatrica Acta . 43 (1–2): 103–109.
ISSN
0018-022X .
PMID
2844705 .
^ Superti-Furga, Andrea; Tenconi, Romano; Clementi, Maurizio; Eich, Georg; Steinmann, Beat; Boltshauser, Eugen; Giedion, Andres (1998). "Schwartz-Jampel syndrome type 2 and Stüve-Wiedemann syndrome: A case for ?Lumping?". American Journal of Medical Genetics . 78 (2): 150–154.
doi :
10.1002/(SICI)1096-8628(19980630)78:2<150::AID-AJMG10>3.0.CO;2-M .
PMID
9674906 .
^ Superti-Furga, A.; Steinmann, B.; Duc, G.; Gitzelmann, R. (May 1991).
"Maternal phenylketonuria syndrome in cousins caused by mild, unrecognized phenylketonuria in their mothers homozygous for the phenylalanine hydroxylase Arg-261-Gln mutation" . European Journal of Pediatrics . 150 (7): 493–497.
doi :
10.1007/BF01958431 .
ISSN
0340-6199 .
PMID
1915502 .
S2CID
2686393 .
^
a
b Superti-Furga, A.; Gugler, E.; Gitzelmann, R.; Steinmann, B. (5 May 1988).
"Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV: a multi-exon deletion in one of the two COL3A1 alleles affecting structure, stability, and processing of type III procollagen" . The Journal of Biological Chemistry . 263 (13): 6226–6232.
doi :
10.1016/S0021-9258(18)68776-9 .
ISSN
0021-9258 .
PMID
2834369 .
^ Schmitt, B.; Bauersfeld, U.; Fanconi, S.; Wohlrab, G.; Huisman, T. A.; Bandtlow, C.; Baumann, P.; Superti-Furga, A.; Martin, E.; Arbenz, U.; Molinari, L. (August 1997).
"The effect of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist dextromethorphan on perioperative brain injury in children undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass: results of a pilot study" . Neuropediatrics . 28 (4): 191–197.
doi :
10.1055/s-2007-973699 .
ISSN
0174-304X .
PMID
9309708 .
S2CID
260240860 .
^ Lee, B; Vitale, E; Superti-Furga, A; Steinmann, B; Ramirez, F (March 1991).
"G to T transversion at position +5 of a splice donor site causes skipping of the preceding exon in the type III procollagen transcripts of a patient with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV" . Journal of Biological Chemistry . 266 (8): 5256–5259.
doi :
10.1016/S0021-9258(19)67780-X .
PMID
1672129 .
^
"News (view all): IOB" . iob.ch . Retrieved 31 August 2021 .
^ Superti-Furga, A.; Hästbacka, J.; Wilcox, W. R.; Cohn, D. H.; van der Harten, H. J.; Rossi, A.; Blau, N.; Rimoin, D. L.; Steinmann, B.; Lander, E. S.; Gitzelmann, R. (January 1996).
"Achondrogenesis type IB is caused by mutations in the diastrophic dysplasia sulphate transporter gene" . Nature Genetics . 12 (1): 100–102.
doi :
10.1038/ng0196-100 .
ISSN
1061-4036 .
PMID
8528239 .
S2CID
31143438 .
^ Lausch, Ekkehart; Hermanns, Pia; Farin, Henner F.; Alanay, Yasemin; Unger, Sheila; Nikkel, Sarah; Steinwender, Christoph; Scherer, Gerd; Spranger, Jürgen; Zabel, Bernhard; Kispert, Andreas (November 2008).
"TBX15 mutations cause craniofacial dysmorphism, hypoplasia of scapula and pelvis, and short stature in Cousin syndrome" . American Journal of Human Genetics . 83 (5): 649–655.
doi :
10.1016/j.ajhg.2008.10.011 .
ISSN
1537-6605 .
PMC
2668032 .
PMID
19068278 .
^ Unger, S.; Górna, M. W.; Le Béchec, A.; Do Vale-Pereira, S.; Bedeschi, M. F.; Geiberger, S.; Grigelioniene, G.; Horemuzova, E.; Lalatta, F.; Lausch, E.; Magnani, C.; Nampoothiri, S.; Nishimura, G.; Petrella, D.; Rojas-Ringeling, F.; Utsunomiya, A.; Zabel, B.; Pradervand, S.; Harshman, K.; Campos-Xavier, B.; Bonafé, L.; Superti-Furga, G.; Stevenson, B.; Superti-Furga, A. (2013).
"FAM111A mutations result in hypoparathyroidism and impaired skeletal development" . American Journal of Human Genetics . 92 (6): 990–995.
doi :
10.1016/j.ajhg.2013.04.020 .
PMC
3675238 .
PMID
23684011 .
^ Lausch, Ekkehart; Janecke, Andreas; Bros, Matthias; Trojandt, Stefanie; Alanay, Yasemin; De Laet, Corinne; Hübner, Christian A.; Meinecke, Peter; Nishimura, Gen; Matsuo, Mari; Hirano, Yoshiko (January 2011).
"Genetic deficiency of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase associated with skeletal dysplasia, cerebral calcifications and autoimmunity" . Nature Genetics . 43 (2): 132–137.
doi :
10.1038/ng.749 .
ISSN
1546-1718 .
PMID
21217752 .
S2CID
205357235 .
^ Simsek Kiper, Pelin O.; Saito, Hiroaki; Gori, Francesca; Unger, Sheila; Hesse, Eric; Yamana, Kei; Kiviranta, Riku; Solban, Nicolas; Liu, Jeff; Brommage, Robert; Boduroglu, Koray (30 June 2016).
"Cortical-Bone Fragility — Insights from sFRP4 Deficiency in Pyle's Disease" . New England Journal of Medicine . 374 (26): 2553–2562.
doi :
10.1056/NEJMoa1509342 .
ISSN
0028-4793 .
PMC
5070790 .
PMID
27355534 .
^ Royer-Bertrand B, Castillo-Taucher S, Moreno-Salinas R, Cho TJ, Chae JH, Choi M, Kim OH, Dikoglu E, Campos-Xavier B, Girardi E, Superti-Furga G, Bonafé L, Rivolta C, Unger S, Superti-Furga A (November 2015).
"Mutations in the heat-shock protein A9 (HSPA9) gene cause the EVEN-PLUS syndrome of congenital malformations and skeletal dysplasia" . Sci Rep . 5 : 17154.
Bibcode :
2015NatSR...517154R .
doi :
10.1038/srep17154 .
PMC
4657157 .
PMID
26598328 .
^
"MIM 616854: Even Plus Syndrome" . OMIM .
^ van Karnebeek CD, Bonafé L, Wen XY, Tarailo-Graovac M, Balzano S, Royer-Bertrand B, Ashikov A, Garavelli L, Mammi I, Turolla L, Breen C, Donnai D, Cormier-Daire V, Heron D, Nishimura G, Uchikawa S, Campos-Xavier B, Rossi A, Hennet T, Brand-Arzamendi K, Rozmus J, Harshman K, Stevenson BJ, Girardi E, Superti-Furga G, Dewan T, Collingridge A, Halparin J, Ross CJ, Van Allen MI, Rossi A, Engelke UF, Kluijtmans LA, van der Heeft E, Renkema H, de Brouwer A, Huijben K, Zijlstra F, Heise T, Boltje T, Wasserman WW, Rivolta C, Unger S, Lefeber DJ, Wevers RA, Superti-Furga A (July 2016).
"NANS-mediated synthesis of sialic acid is required for brain and skeletal development" (PDF) . Nat Genet . 48 (7): 777–84.
doi :
10.1038/ng.3578 .
PMID
27213289 .
S2CID
24953080 .
^ Allou, Lila; Balzano, Sara; Magg, Andreas; Quinodoz, Mathieu; Royer-Bertrand, Beryl; Schöpflin, Robert; Chan, Wing-Lee; Speck-Martins, Carlos E.; Carvalho, Daniel Rocha; Farage, Luciano; Lourenço, Charles Marques (April 2021).
"Non-coding deletions identify Maenli lncRNA as a limb-specific En1 regulator" . Nature . 592 (7852): 93–98.
Bibcode :
2021Natur.592...93A .
doi :
10.1038/s41586-021-03208-9 .
hdl :
21.11116/0000-0008-1272-3 .
ISSN
1476-4687 .
PMID
33568816 .
S2CID
231882012 .
^
"Andrea Superti-Furga" . scholar.google.it . Retrieved 20 August 2021 .
^
"Management – CeMM" . cemm.at . Retrieved 31 August 2021 .
^
a
b
"List of Members" . Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina . Retrieved 20 August 2021 .
^
"Cloëtta Prize | Max Cloëtta Stiftung" . Retrieved 20 August 2021 .
^
"seminars" . www3.unisi.it . Retrieved 31 August 2021 .
^
"Executive Board" . Executive Board . Retrieved 20 August 2021 .
^
"List of Members" . Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina . Retrieved 1 September 2021 .
^
"Die Stiftung Pfizer Forschungspreis | pfizerforschungspreis.ch" . www.pfizerforschungspreis.ch (in German). Retrieved 1 September 2021 .
^
"Board" . www.stiftungmedbiol.novartis.com . Retrieved 1 September 2021 .
External links
International National Academics