Germana investigates red blood cell disorders and anaemia in low-resource settings, focusing on diagnostics, causes and treatment strategies. Projects include evaluating portable G6PD tests and studying iron supplementation’s impact on vaccine response in pregnant women. The goal is to improve targeted treatments and diagnostics for anaemia in vulnerable populations.

Germana leads the activities of the Haematology laboratory of SMRU in support to both clinical and research work. Her main research interest is the study of inherited red blood cells disorders (IRD), in particular G6PD deficiency, in relation to clinical outcomes. Past and future research studies include the characterization of genotypes and phenotypes of G6PD deficiency in South-East Asia, the study of haemolytic risk during treatment with 8-aminoquinolines and other oxidative drugs and the use of innovative tools to better characterize RBCs phenotypes in the laboratory.  She is also interested in G6PD deficiency contribution to the onset of severe neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia. Working closely with the clinicians of SMRU, one of the aim of her research is to bring to the field better validated point-of-care tests to improve G6PD diagnosis at birth and before malaria treatment. Further research interests include the study of causes of anaemia in pregnancy and infancy and the investigation of markers of iron deficiency that can inform appropriate early treatment.

Before moving to SMRU in 2010, Germana worked in Rome and Burkina Faso studying the evolution of haemoglobin variants of West African populations and their impact on the capacity of Plasmodium falciparum to transmit from humans to mosquitoes. She also characterized G6PD mutations in African populations (Burkina Faso, Madagascar and Rwanda) to study protection against malaria and drug-induced anaemia. She obtained her PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology in Rome in 2008.