Born on the 14th January 1972 in Pieta, Malta and lived in Sliema for the first 17 years of my life. At the age of four I started attending St. Elizabeth School in Sliema followed by five years of primary education at Sliema's Government school. From 1982 to 1988 I attended the Archbishop's Seminary, Tal-Virtu, Rabat, Malta. From the very early days of my secondary education I developed a keen interest in science especially in biology. I was also interested in arts, where I attended the School of Arts, Palazzo de la Salle, Valletta, Malta for two years between  1985 - 1987.

In October 1988, I started a one year course at the Pre-Vocational school in preparation for a healthcare career which led me to a three year diploma course in Medical Laboratory Technology. During these three years of training I gained experience in various areas of Biomedical Science including clinical chemistry, microbiology, virology, food microbiology, haematology and blood transfusion. At the same time I continued to develop my art talent and also was active in a number of sport's activities including martial arts and weight training, which also helped me to build my character especially self discipline. In 1997 I started reading for a Bachelor's degree in medical laboratory sciences at the University of Malta, where I graduated in November 2001. From December 2001 I registered for the degree of Master of Philosophy with the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta, studying the genetics of osteoporosis. My studies were transferred to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 2005 and graduated in November 2007. At the moment I am studying the genetics of coeliac disease and osteoporosis in the Maltese population. In my free time I like reading about different topics, arts, computers, internet, sports and travelling.

As a scientist, I believe that we can only understand the physical world around us through increased scientific knowledge. Science knows its early days during the middle ages but in the twentieth century there was great progress which led to a rapid growth in technology, which in return resulted in further increase of scientific knowledge through research. Until now, science is still in its early days and we only have very little understanding of what is around us. I feel that we are responsible to teach science to our children from when they are young and to show them its importance to understand better the real world.

Politically I believe in the idea of liberalism of the individual and state where importance is given to the freedom of speech and thought, freedom in the exchange of different ideas, equal rights to minorities in society, equality between races, limited power of state but at the same time no one should be above the law.

• Ph.D. in Pathology (Molecular Genetics), University of Malta, 2007

• B.Sc.(Hons.) Medical Laboratory Science, University of Malta, 2001

• Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology, Department of Health, Malta, 1993

• Molecular genetics

• Linkage and association studies

• Mammalian cell culture

• Clinical chemistry

• DNA profiling

• Genetics of inflammation, cancer and complex disorders such as osteoporosis, coeliac disease, atherosclerosis, diabetes and obesity

• Genetic studies in isolated populations

• Genetic and epigenetic controls of gene expression in Down's syndrome

• European Society of Human Genetics

• Genetics Society of AustralAsia

• Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

• Post-doctoral Research Officer, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 2009 to date

• Post-Doctoral Research Assistant, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta, July 2008 - 2009

• Medical Research Scientist, MLS BioDNA Ltd, 2005 - 2009

• Research Scientist, Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of Malta, Dec 2005 – July 2008

• Research Assistant, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta, 2001 – 2005

• Senior Medical Laboratory Scientist, Emergency Lab, St. Luke’s Hospital, Malta, 1998 – 2004

Peer-Reviewed Research Articles (2007 - 2010)

Vidal, C., and Xuereb-Anastasi, A. (2009) Genetics of osteoporosis in the Maltese population: A review. Malta Medical Journal 21: 6 - 11

Vidal, C., and Xuereb-Anastasi, A. (2009) Frequency of the CCR5-delta 32 polymorphism in the Maltese population. International Journal of Immunogenetics 36: 301 – 304 (PMID: 19744036) (Impact factor: 1.16)

 Vidal, C., Cachia, A., and Xuereb-Anastasi, A. (2009) Effects of a synonymous variant in exon 9 of the CD44 gene on pre-mRNA splicing in a family with osteoporosis. Bone 45: 736 - 742 (PMID: 19580891) (Impact factor: 4.145)

Scerri, C.A., Xuereb-Anastasi, A., and Vidal, C. (2009) No effects of a novel synonymous variant within the CD59 gene on its protein product in duodenal biopsies of coeliac individuals. Tissue Antigens 74: 336 - 338 (PMID: 19686460) (Impact factor: 2.245)

Vidal, C., Borg, J., Xuereb-Anastasi, A., and Scerri, C.A. (2009) Variants within protectin (CD59) and CD44 genes linked to an inherited haplotype in a family with coeliac disease. Tissue Antigens 73: 225 - 235 (PMID: 19254252) (Impact factor: 2.245)

Vidal, C., and Cassar, M. (2008) A case of tri-allelic pattern at locus D3S1358 on chromosome 3p21 inherited from paternal grandparent. Forensic Science International - Genetics 2: 372 - 375 (PMID: 19083850)

Jaeckle, Santos, L.J., Xing, C., Barnes, R.B., Ades, L.C.,Megarbane, A., Vidal, C., Xuereb, A., Tarpey, P.S., Smith, R.,Khazab, M., Shoubridge, C., Partington, M., Futreal, A., Stratton, M.R., Gecz, J., and Zinn, A.R. (2008) Refined mapping of X-linked reticulate pigmentary disorder and sequencing of candidate genes. Human Genetics 123: 469 - 476.  (PMID: 18404279) (Impact factor: 3.974)

Cassar, M., Farrugia, C., and Vidal, C. (2008) Allele frequencies of 14 STR loci in the population of Malta. Legal Medicine 10: 153 – 156. (PMID: 18039589)

Vidal, C., Galea, R., Brincat, M., and Xuereb-Anastasi, A. (2007) Linkage to chromosome 11p12 in two Maltese families with a highly penetrant form of osteoporosis. European Journal of Human Genetics 15: 800 – 809. (PMID: 17377523) (Impact factor: 4.003) 

Xuereb-Anastasi, A., and Vidal, C. (2007) The vitamin D receptor gene and osteoporosis. Clinical Dermatology: Retinoids and other Treatments 23: 18 – 21.

Vidal, C., Brincat, M., and Xuereb-Anastasi, A. (2007) Effects of polymorphisms in the collagen type 1α1 gene promoter and the C677T variant in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene on bone mineral density in postmenopausal women in Malta. Balkan Journal of Medical Genetics 10: 9 – 18. (Link)

Borg, J., Scerri, C.A., Vidal, C., and Xuereb-Anastasi, A. (2007) There is no association between -318 (C/T) and +49 (A/G) CTLA4 gene polymorphisms and the coeliac condition in the Maltese population. Balkan Journal of Medical Genetics 9: 49 – 51. (Link)

Publications 2002 - 2006
 

Articles in preparation or submitted for publication

Vidal, C., and Xuereb-Anastasi, A. A variant in the promoter region of TRAF6 gene increases gene expression in murine macrophages (submitted)

Abstracts and Poster Presentations

Vidal, C., Nanan, B., Nanan, R., and Duque, G. (2010) Activation of the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan degradation plays a role in osteoblastogenesis. JBMR (in press)

Vidal, C., Nanan, B., Nanan, R., and Duque, G. (2010) Immune and osteogenic: The two faces of interferon gamma.

Vidal, C., Formosa, R., and Xuereb-Anastasi, A. (2010) Haplotypes within the TNFRSF11B (osteoprotegerin) gene and bone mineral density (bmd) in maltese post-menopausal women. To be presented at the IOF-ECCEO10 Congress, Florence, Italy, May 2010)

Vidal, C., and Xuereb-Anastasi, A. (2009) No effects on pre-mRNA splicing of an intronic insertion/deletion within the TRAF-6 gene. Published abstract for the 7^th International Conference on Bone and Mineral Research and 9^th International Osteoporosis Symposium, Shangai, China: May 2009

Vidal, C., Xuereb-Anastasi, A., and Scerri, C.A. (2009) No association of polymorphisms within the CD44 gene and the coeliac condition. European Journal of Human Genetics (in press)

Vidal, C., and Xuereb-Anastasi, A. (2009) A variant within the TRAF-6 gene promoter increases gene expression in the absence of a GATA-1 binding site. Bone 45: Sup 2, S81 - 82. Poster presentation at the International Congress of Children's Bone Health, Cambridge 2009.

Vidal, C., Cachia, A., and Xuereb-Anastasi, A. (2009) A variant within the CD44 gene in a Maltese family with osteoporosis. Bone (in press)

Xuereb-Anastasi, A., Cachia, A., Gatt, C., and Vidal, C. (2008) Sequencing of genes in two families with high incidence of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis International 19: Supp 2, 423

Vidal, C., Borg, J., Fenech, A., Xuereb-Anastasi, A., and Scerri, C.A. (2008) A silent mutation within protectin (CD59) gene and exon skipping in a family with coeliac disease. European Journal of Human Genetics 16: Supp 1, 243

Vidal, C., and Xuereb-Anastasi, A. (2008) A transversion in the tumour necrosis factor receptor associated factor 6 gene promoter increases gene expression in RAW264.7 cells. Calcified Tissue International 82: Supp 1, S148

Vidal, C., Borg, J., Felice, A.E., Xuereb-Anastasi, A., and Scerri, CA. (2007) A genome-wide linkage scan in an extended Maltese family with a high incidence of coeliac disease. European Journal of Human Genetics 15: Supp 1, 241

Vidal, C., Galea, R., Brincat, M., and Xuereb-Anastasi, A. (2007) TRAF6 gene variants in a family with a highly penetrant form of osteoporosis. Calcified Tissue International 80: Supp 1, S104