Dr Savioli earned his degree in Medicine and Surgery in 1977, in Rome, and his postdoctoral degrees in tropical medicine and infectious diseases in 1979 and 1985 respectively. He also earned an MSc in Parasitology, from London, in 1989. Dr Savioli has authored several books on parasitic and infectious diseases and over 100 scientific papers, mostly in international journals.
He was the director of the Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. During his term at WHO, since 1991, he was in charge of the programme on intestinal parasitic infections (1991-1996) and Acting Chief, Schistosomiasis and Intestinal Parasites Unit (1996-1999).
Dr Savioli is a member of several international and national organization such as the Italian Society of Tropical Medicine, of which he is a member of the Directive Council, the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the American Society of Parasitology. Before joining WHO, Dr Savioli worked extensively in East Africa where he is well known for his work in the field of Schistosomiasis and intestinal nematode infections. He is presently part of the tripartite (Zanzibar Government-Ivo de Carneri Foundation-WHO) scientific commission of the Ivo de Carneri, Pemba Island Public Health Laboratory, Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania. Dr Savioli is a Senior Associate of the Department of International Health of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, USA. In 1986 he was awarded the first prize by the Rorer Foundation for Medical Sciences “Italian Medicine for Developing Countries” for the best article on Italian medical aid for developing countries.
Dr Lorenzo Savioli was elected a Fellow of the Islamic World Academy of Sciences in 2000