Position/Role

Full Professor in Medicine. President of the National Study Centre on Gender Health and Medicine.  Member elected of the Scientific Board of the International Society of Gender Medicine www.isogem.com.

Professional career

After graduating in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Padua in 1972, she continued her training first by specialising in Endocrinology at the University of Pavia and then as a research fellow at the Ludolf Krehl Klinik of the University of Heidelberg (West Germany). She then specialised in Internal Medicine at the University of Padua. From 1980 to 1988 she was a confirmed researcher, first at the Chair of Gerontology and Rechargeable Diseases at the Institute of Clinical Medicine, and then at the Chair of Medical Pathology I at the Institute of Internal Medicine, University of Padua. Since 1987 she has been associate professor of Gerontology and Geriatrics at the two universities of Pavia and Padua, and from 1995 to 1999 she was full professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Sassari, where in 1996 she founded and directed the University's School of Specialty in Gerontology and Geriatrics. 

Since 1999, she has flanked her academic career with a clinical one, heading the Complex Operative Unit of General Medicine at the University of Padua Hospital until 2017.

In 2013, she was appointed by the University of Padua for "clear fame" to the position of full professor of Gender Medicine, where she is currently a non-tenured full professor.

In April 2020 she was appointed by the Head of Civil Protection, at the proposal of the Prime Minister, to integrate the Technical and Scientific Committee for the management of the Covid-19 emergency.

Editorial work and publications

Giovannella Baggio is founder and editor of theItalian Journal of Gender-specific Medicine; she is the author of 6 monographs and 270 scientific publications, including: 

(2016) Ostan R, Monti D, Gueresi P, Bussolotto M, Franceschi C, Baggio G. Gender, aging and longevity in humans: an update of an intriguing/neglected scenario paving the way to a gender-specific medicine. Clinial Science, 130(19):1711-25. 
(2015) Sergi G, Veronese N, Fontana L, De Rui M, Bolzetta F, Zambon S, Corti MC, Baggio G, Toffanello ED, Crepaldi G, Perissinotto E, Manzato E. Pre-frailty and risk of cardiovascular disease in elderly men and women: the Pro.V.A. study. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 65(10):976-83. 
(2015) Baggio G. Dalla medicina di genere alla medicina genere-specifica. From Gender medicine to Gender-specific Medicine. Italian Journal of Gender-Specific Medicine, 1:2-5. 
(2014) Toffanello ED, Sergi G, Veronese N, Perissinotto E, Zambon S, Coin A, Sartori L, Musacchio E, Corti MC, Baggio G, Crepaldi G, Manzato E. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin d and the onset of late-life depressive mood in older men and women: the Pro.V.A. study. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 69(12):1554-61. 
(2013) Baggio G, Corsini A, Floreani A, Giannini S, Zagonel V. Gender medicine: a task for the third millennium. Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, 51(4):713-27. 
(2009) Bilato C, Corti MC, Baggio G, Rampazzo D, Cutolo A, Ilicato S, Crepaldi G. Prevalence, Functional Impact, and Mortality of Atrial Fibrillation in an Older Italian Population (from tha Pro.V.A. Study). American Journal of Cardiology, 104(8):1092-7. 
(2008) Capri M, Salvioli S, Monti D, Caruso C, Candore G, Vasto S, Olivieri F, Marchegiani F, Sansoni P, Baggio G, Mari D, Passarino G, De Benedictis G, Franeschi C. Human longevity within an evolutionary perspective: The peculiar paradigm of post-reproductive genetics. Experimental Gerontology, 43(2):53-60. 
(2007) Corti MC, Baggio G, Sartori L, Barbato G, Manzato E, Musacchio E, Ferrucci L, Cardinali G, Donato D, Launer LJ, Zambon S, Crepaldi G, Guralnik JM. White Matter Lesions and the risk of incident hip fracture in older persons: Results from the PRO.V.A. (PROgetto Veneto Anziani) Study. Archives of Internal Medicine, 167(16):1745-1751. 
(2006) Caselli G, Pozzi L, Vaupel JW, Deiana L, Pes G, Carru C, Franceschi C, Baggio G. Family clustering in Sardinian longevity: A genealogical approach. Experimental Gerontology, 41(8):727-736. 
(2002) Deiana L, Pes GM, Carru C, Ferrucci L, Franceschi C, Baggio G.The "Oldest Man on the Planet". Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 50:2098-9.

Position/Role

Full Professor of Gastroenterology and Delegate for Postgraduate Schools and Observatory for Postgraduate Specialist Training at the University of Padua. Head of the Multivisceral Transplantation Unit at the Hospital of University of Padua.

Professional career

Professor Burra obtained her medical degree at the University of Padua in 1984, followed by specialization in Gastroenterology and Endoscopy. Subsequently, she undertook an international research fellowship at the Liver Unit and Liver Research Laboratories at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, UK, before completing a PhD in Hepatology at the Padua University in 1993. She then joined the faculty at the Padua University as a Senior Registrar and Assistant Professor, Since 2004 Professor Burra is responsible of the “Regional center for cell therapy of metabolic diseases”. In 2010 she was appointed Head of the Multivisceral Transplantation Unit at the Padua University. In 2014, she became associate professor and in 2019 full professor of Gastroenterology at the University of Padua. From 2015 to 2021 she is pro-rector for Postgraduate Training at the University of Padua. From 2021 she will be Delegate to the Schools of Specialisation and to the Observatory for Postgraduate Training, at the same University. 

She is currently Secretary of the Italian Society of Gastroenterology (SIGE), President of the North Italian Transplant program (NITp), and elected Chair of the Public Affairs Committee of the United European Gastroenterology (UEG). She is also Honorary President of the European Board Transplant Medicine and Coordinator of the Permanent Transplant Commission of the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver (AISF). 

Scientific results

Patrizia Burra is interested in clinical and translational studies in the setting of liver transplantation, mainly regarding antiviral therapy for HCV recurrence, HBV prophylaxis after transplantation, acute alcoholic hepatitis as indication for liver transplantation, liver transplantation for NASH and NAFLD, adherence to medical treatments and quality of life of transplant recipients.

In the past, she has carried out studies on neurological function and regional cerebral flux by means of SPECT (single photon emission tomography) and has carried out quantitative studies on neurological function by PET (positron emission tomography) in subjects who are candidates for liver transplantation. In addition to clinical research, Patrizia Burra has been involved in basic research, mainly carrying out studies on primary cultures of human hepatocytes, receptors for thyroid hormones and stem cells from the umbilical cord and their differentiation into hepatocytes.

Editorial work and publications

Patrizia Burra is associate editor of Transplant International since 2009, of American Journal of Transplantation from 2010 to 2015 and of Digestive and Liver Disease since 2015. Since 2017 she is Special Section Editor of Journal of Hepatology and from 2018 she is co-chair of The Lancet–EASL Commission on liver diseases in Europe.

She has authored more than 290 articles in international peer-reviewed journals, including:

Manns MP, Burra P, Sargent J, Horton R, Karlsen TH. The Lancet-EASL Commission on liver diseases in Europe: overcoming unmet needs, stigma, and inequities. Lancet. 2018 Aug 25;392(10148):621-622

Burra P, Zanetto A, Germani G. Liver Transplantation for Alcoholic Liver Disease and Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel). 2018 Feb 9;10(2):pii: E46

Toniutto P, Zanetto A, Ferrarese A, Burra P. Current challenges and future directions for liver transplantation. Liver Int. 2017;37:317–327

Burra P,Rodríguez-Castro K, Guarino M, Morisco F, Villa E, Mazzella G, Women in Hepatology Group; Italian Association for the Study of the Liver (AISF). AISF position paper on liver transplantation and pregnancy: Women in Hepatology Group, Italian Association for the Study of the Liver (AISF). Digestive and Liver Disease, 48(8):860-868.

Burra P, Germani G, Adam R, Karam V, Marzano A, Lampertico P, Salizzoni M, Filipponi F, Klempnauer JL, Castaing D, Kilic M, Carlis LD, Neuhaus P, Yilmaz S, Paul A, Pinna AD, Burroughs AK, Russo FP. Liver transplantation for HBV-related cirrhosis in Europe: an ELTR study on evolution and outcomes. J Hepatol. 2013 Feb;58(2):287-96.

Awards and prizes

Patrizia Burra is President of the NGO Marina Minnaja Foundation for the research and study of liver transplantation. She is a member of numerous Italian and international scientific societies, including: AISF (Italian Association of Liver Study) since 1985, SIGE (Italian Society of Gastroenterology) since 1985, ESOT (European Society for Organ Transplantation) since 1994, EASL (European Association Study of the Liver) since 1995 and ILTS (International Liver Transplant) since 2008.

Additionally, Professor Burra has previously served as Vice President of ESOT, Councillor of ILTS and Chair of the ILTS Education Committee, President of ILTS as well as Chair of the European Liver and Intestine Transplant Association. Currently, she is Past President of ILTS.

In 2021, she became a Fellow of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (FAASLD) and received the EASL 2021 Recognition Award. 

Position/Role

Full professor of Psychiatry at University Vita-Salute San Raffaele of Milan and Head of the Complex Operative Unit of Rehabilitation of Mood Disorders at San Raffaele Hospital, Milan 

Professional career

After graduating in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Milan and qualifying as a doctor in 1985, Cristina Colombo continued her training as a volunteer at the Laboratory of Clinical Neurophysiology of the Psychiatric Clinic of the University of Milan. At the same time she worked as a medical assistant at the Division of Psychiatry 3 of the Department of Neuropsychiatric Sciences, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital. The following year he completed his specialisation in Psychiatry at the University of Milan. In 1991 he completed a postgraduate course in bioethics at the Department of Biomedical Science and Technology, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital. In 2001 she obtained a second specialisation in Clinical Criminology, also at the University of Milan. Today she is Professor of Psychiatry at the University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Head of the Complex Operative Unit of Rehabilitation of Mood Disorders at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan and Director of the Master of II level Forensic Psychopathology and Criminology at the University Vita-Salute San Raffaele.

Scientific results

Cristina Colombo's research activity extends from computerised electroencephalography, brain mapping and brain imaging techniques (CT, MRI, PET) to her current position as coordinator of the research group of the Chronobiology Unit of the Centre for Mood Disorders at San Raffaele Hospital. Within the centre, she and her colleagues carry out specific scientific research on mood disorders, the main research aims being not only to expand knowledge about this pathology, but also to design and develop diagnostic and measurement tools. The main lines of scientific research at the Centre coordinated by Cristina Colombo are functional neuroimaging, the psychopathology of mood disorders, chronobiology and chronotherapy and somatotherapy (TMS, a non-invasive technique for stimulating areas of the brain related to depressive disorders).

Editorial work and publications

Cristina Colombo is on the scientific committees of several international journals and has authored more than 100 articles in international journals, including:

(1993) Colombo C, Bonfanti A, Livian S, Abbruzzese M, Scarone S. Size of the corpus callosum and auditory comprehension in schizophrenics and normal controls. Schizophrenia Research, 11:63-70.

(1999) Smeraldi E, Benedetti F, Barbini B, Campori C, Colombo C. Sustained antidepressant effect of sleep deprivation combined with pindolol in bipolar depression: a placebo-controlled trial. Neuropsychopharmacology, 20(4):380-385.

(2000) Moresco RM, Colombo C, Fazio F, Bonfanti A, Lucignani G, Messa C, Gobbo C, Galli L, Del Sole A, Lucca A, Smeraldi E. Effects of fluvoxamine treatment on the in vivo binding of [F-18]FESP in drug naive depressed patients: a PET study. Neuroimage, 12(4):452-465.

(2002) Benedetti F, Colombo C, Barbini B, Smeraldi E. Sleep deprivation and biological rhytms in bipolar disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, (68):88-89.

(2007) Benedetti F, Barbini B, Colombo C, Smeraldi E. Chronoterapeutics in a psychiatric ward. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 11:509-522.

(2011) Benedetti F, Colombo C. Sleep deprivation in mood disorders. Neuropsychobiology, 64:141-151.

(2014) Benedetti F, Bollettini I, Radaelli D, Poletti S, Locatelli C, Falini A, Smeraldi E, Colombo C. Adverse childhood experiences influence white-matter microstructure in patients with bipolar disorder. Psychological Medicine, 44:3069-3082.

(2014) Benedetti F, Riccaboni R, Poletti S, Radaelli D, Locatelli C, Lorenzi C, Pirovano A, Smeraldi E, Colombo C. The serotonin transporter genotype modulates the relationship between early stress and adult suicidality in bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorders, 16: 857-866.

(2015) Benedetti F, Poletti S, Radaelli D, Locatelli C, Pirovano A, Lorenzi C, Vai B, Bollettini I, Falini A, Smeraldi E, Colombo C. Lithium and GSK-3beta promoter gene variants influence cortical gray matter volumes in bipolar disorder. Psychopharmacology. 

(2015) Benedetti F, Riccaboni R, Dallaspezia S, Locatelli C, Smeraldi E, Colombo C. Effects of CLOCK gene variants and early stress on hopelessness and suicide in bipolar depression. Chronobiology International, Posted online on July 23, 2015.

Position/Role

Full Professor of Psychiatry at University of Pisa. Director of the Psychiatry Care Unit of the University Hospital of Pisa. President of the Italian College of University Professors of Psychiatry

Professional career

She graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Pisa in 1979, where she specialised in Psychiatry in 1984. In 1983 she became a researcher at the Institute of Pharmacology of the University of Pisa, and in 1987 she took up the same position at the Institute of Psychiatry of the same University. In 1992 she became an associate professor of psychiatry, and in 2001 she became a full professor of psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, Neurobiology, Pharmacology and Biotechnology at the same University. From 2001 to 2010 she was director of Operational Unit 2 of Psychiatry, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana. Since 2010 she has also been director of the Operational Unit 1 of Psychiatry and of the School of Specialisation in Psychiatry at the University of Pisa. Since 2012 she coordinates the Research and Teaching of the Integrated Department (DAI) of Neuroscience of the Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana. Since 2015 she is Vice President of the Italian Society of Psychiatry (SIP). In 2018 she was elected President of the Italian College of Full Professors of Psychiatry.

Scientific results

His research activity is carried out in the fields of psychopathology, neurobiology, clinical pharmacology and genetics. Of particular relevance is her contribution to the "Spectrum Project", an international collaborative project (University of Pisa, University of Pittsburgh, University of New York, University of San Diego) for the development and validation of structured clinical interviews and questionnaires for the evaluation of mood (SCI-MOODS), anxiety (SCI-SHY, SCI-OBS, SCI-TALS), psychotic (SCI-PSY) and substance use symptoms (SCI-SUBS). Liliana Dell'Osso also conducts clinical research on the treatment of psychotic disorders, with particular emphasis on studies on the use of clozapine, on the use of typical and atypical antipsychotics in patients with bipolar syndrome and studies on schizophrenic disorders. More recently, Liliana Dell'Osso is involved in the study of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the autistic spectrum.

Editorial work and publications

Liliana Dell'Osso has written several popular scientific books:

L'altra Marilyn. Psichiatria e psicoanalisi di un cold case (Le Lettere, Firenze 2016)

L'Abisso negli occhi. Spettro Autistico e violenza di genere nel mito e nell’arte (ETS, Pisa 2016, 2019)

La verità sulla menzogna: dalle origini alla post-verità (ETS, Pisa 2017) 

Il caso Coco Chanel. L’insopportabile Genio (Giunti, Firenze 2018)

L’ombra dell’autismo. Declinazioni cliniche e psicopatologiche dello spettro autistico sottosoglia. (Franco Angeli, Milano 2018)

Genio e follia 2.0. Il complesso rapporto tra spettro autistico e competenze eccezionali (Franco Angeli, 2019).

Fatti di quotidiana follia (Giunti, Firenze 2019)

She is also the author/co-author/co-editor of more than 800 publications in international and national scientific journals, book chapters: manuals, treatises and monographs (in English and Italian), books, including: 

La malattia depressiva (Idelsen-Gnocchi, Napoli, 1989) 
Diagnosi psichiatrica e DSM-3-R (Giuffrè, Milano1989) 
Da Esculapio a Igea. Un approccio di genere alla salute (Plus, Pisa 2007) 
Recurrent Mood Disorders. New Perspectives in Therapy (Springer, 2012) 
Manuale di Clinica e Riabilitazione Psichiatrica, vol I e vol II (Giovanni Fioriti Editore, Roma, 2018) 

Awards and prizes

Liliana Dell'Osso is a member of the Top Italia Scientists, for the field of Clinical Sciences, is included in the Top Italian Women Scientists and is an member of the Virtual Italia Academy which includes Italian scientists and women scientists working in Italy and abroad. 

Since 1 November 2021, she has been the dean of the University of Pisa's Medical Area, the first woman in the history of the university to reach this goal.

In 2021, she won the international "Profilo Donna" award.

Position/Role

Head of the Laboratory of Translation and Medicine and of the Neuromed Biobanking Center, Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli (Isernia)

Professional career

After graduating in Medicine and Surgery from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome in 1968, she continued her training by specialising in Clinical and Laboratory Haematology at the same university. In 1973 she obtained a PhD in Pathophysiology (Haematology) from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. She began her research career during the university years: in 1963 she was a Research Student at the Institute of Microbiology of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, in 1965 dhe held the same position in the Coagulation Laboratory of the Department of Internal Medicine of the same university, and during her doctorate in Leuven she was a Ph.D. Research Fellow in the Laboratory of Coagulation and Proteolysis. In 1973, she founded and directed the Laboratory of Research on Haemostasis and Thrombosis at the Mario Negri Institute in Milan, and in 1987 she co-founded and coordinated the Mario Negri Sud Biomedical and Pharmacological Research Centre in Santa Maria Imbaro, in the province of Chieti. In addition to her research career, she has also been invited by several Italian universities to teach courses in physiopathology at the University of Bologna from 1990 to 1993 and in cell biology at the Catholic University of Campobasso from 2005 to 2012. From 1995 to 2001 she directed the Department of Vascular Medicine and Pharmacology of the Mario Negri Sud Consortium, and in 2002 she was head of the Telethon Laboratory at the Centre for Research and High-Tech Training in Biomedical Sciences at the Catholic University of Campobasso, where she founded and coordinated the scientific projects of the research laboratories of the Centre for Research and High-Tech Training in Biomedical Sciences. Since 2013 she has been head of the Translational Medicine laboratory of the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention of the IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo Neuromed, in Pozzilli, a role she still holds today.

Scientific results

Maria Benedetta Donati has always devoted herself to the study of thrombosis, the process that leads to the obstruction of blood vessels and is the cause of widespread diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. In particular, in the early part of her career, she conducted pioneering studies on the relationship between thrombosis and cancer and on the possibility of treating certain forms of cancer with anticoagulant drugs. In 1983, she founded the first international working group dedicated to the relationship between tumours and thrombosis. More recently, she has been working on genetic and environmental factors (particularly nutrition) in the development of cardiovascular risk and has discovered, with Licia Iacoviello, the existence of a genetic coagulation factor that protects 20% of the Italian population against heart attack. Since 2005 she has been part of the coordination of Moli-sani, an epidemiological study of 25,000 people living in Molise promoted by the IRCCS of Pozzilli, which studies and disseminates the beneficial effects of the Mediterranean diet on health.

Editorial work and publications

She has authored numerous scientific publications, including:

(2016) Bonaccio M, Di Castelnuovo A, Costanzo S, Persichillo M, De Curtis A, Donati MB, de Gaetano G, Iacoviello L, MOLI-SANI Study Investigators. Adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet and mortality in subjects with diabetes. Prospective results from the MOLI-SANI study. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 23(4):400-7.

(2015) Iacoviello L, Di Castelnuovo A, de Curtis A, Agnoli C, Frasca G, Mattiello A, Matullo G, Ricceri F, Sacerdote C, Grioni S, Tumino R, Napoleone E, Lorenzet R, de Gaetano G, Panico S, Donati MB. Circulating Tissue Factor Levels and Risk of Stroke: Findings From the EPICOR Study. Stroke, 46(6):1501-7.

(2014) Bonaccio M, Di Castelnuovo A, De Curtis A, Costanzo S, Persichillo M, Donati MB, Cerletti C, Iacoviello L, de Gaetano G, MOLI-SANI Project Investigators. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with lower platelet and leukocyte counts: results from the Moli-sani study. Blood, 123(19):3037-44. 

(2010) Caruso V, Di Castelnuovo A, Meschengieser S, Lazzari MA, de Gaetano G, Storti S, Iacoviello L, Donati MB. Thrombotic complications in adult patients with lymphoma: a meta-analysis of 29 independent cohorts including 18 018 patients and 1149 events. Blood, 115(26):5322-8. 

(2006) Caruso V, Iacoviello L, Di Castelnuovo A, Storti S, Mariani G, de Gaetano G, Donati MB. Thrombotic complications in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a meta-analysis of 17 prospective studies comprising 1752 pediatric patients. Blood, 108(7):2216-22. 

(1998) Iacoviello L, Di Castelnuovo A, De Knijff P, D'Orazio A, Amore C, Arboretti R, Kluft C, Donati MB. Polymorphisms in the coagulation factor VII gene and the risk of myocardial infarction. The New England Journal of Medicine, 338(2):79-85. 

(1995) Donati MB. Cancer and thrombosis: from Phlegmasia alba dolens to transgenic mice. Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 74(1):278-81. 

(1983) Colucci M, Balconi G, Lorenzet R, Pietra A, Locati D, Donati MB, Semeraro N. Cultured human endothelial cells generate tissue factor in response to endotoxin. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 71(6):1893-6.

(1982) Bertani T, Poggi A, Pozzoni R, Delaini F, Sacchi G, Thoua Y, Mecca G, Remuzzi G, Donati MB. Adriamycin-induced nephrotic syndrome in rats: sequence of pathologic events. Laboratory Investigation, 46(1):16-23.

(1978) Remuzzi G, Misiani R, Marchesi D, Livio M, Mecca G, de Gaetano G, Donati MB. Haemolytic-uraemic syndrome: deficiency of plasma factor(s) regulating prostacyclin activity? Lancet, 2(8095):871-2.

Awards and prizes

Maria Benedetta Donati has received several awards since the beginning of her career: in 1968 she won the Agostino Gemelli prize as the best medical graduate of the year from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome and in 1983 she was awarded the international Minerva prize for female excellence in research. 

In 1999 she received the Distinguished Career Award from the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis in Washington. 

In 2000 and 2002 she received two honorary degrees, the first from the University of Debrecen in Hungary and the second from the University of Bialystok in Poland. 

In 2002, in Paringi, UNESCO in collaboration with L'OREAL International awarded her the Special Honor for Women in Science.

In 2016 she received the Top Italian Women Scientists Award in Biomedical Sciences.

Position/Role

President of the World Association for Infectious Diseases and Immunological Disorders (WAidid), Full Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Parma and Director of the Pediatric Clinic at the Pietro Barilla Hospital f the Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria of Parma

Professional career

After graduating in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Milan in 1995, she continued her education with a specialization in Pediatrics (1999) and a next one in Infectious Diseases (2006). Two years after graduating, she was already responsible for the research laboratory of the Pediatric Clinic IV, and since 2000 for the research laboratory of the Clinical Pediatric Clinical Unit of the University of Milan, later called the High Intensity Care Unit of Pediatrics. Susanna Esposito combined her academic career with a medical career: in 2002 she is a university researcher in General and Specialized Pediatrics and since 2005 an associate professor. She also carried out research in foreign institutions: in 2007 in Dallas, Texas, at the Southwestern Medical Center of the University Hospital and Clinic, in 2009 in London, at St George's Medical Center and the following year in Burundi, Africa, at the Kiremba Hospital. From the 2009-2010 academic year, she was Professor of Pediatric Infectious Disease at the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Diploma of the University of Oxford, UK. From 2010 to 2016, she was director of the High Intensity Care Pediatric Unit at the IRCCS Ca 'Granda Foundation, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico of the University of Milan and head of the Regional Reference Center, in Lombardy, for HIV infection and for pediatric Lyme disease. From 2017 to 2019 she is full professor of Paediatrics, director of the School of Specialty in Paediatrics and director of the S.C. Paediatric Clinic at the University of Perugia. She is currently full professor of Paediatrics at the University of Parma and director of the Paediatric Clinic at the Pietro Barilla Hospital of the Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria of Parma and president of the World Association for Infectious Diseases and Immunological Disorders (WAidid).

Scientific results

Susanna Esposito's scientific activity began during her university studies with research on pediatric infectious diseases, in particular influenza and respiratory viruses, invasive bacteria infections, tuberculosis and HIV. Her field of interest extends progressively to immunology with studies on vaccination, immune response and immunogenetics, pneumology, allergy, rheumatology and rare diseases. She coordinated several research and clinical trials on the role of viruses and bacteria in the main infections in pediatric age and studies on vaccination efficacy, tolerability and safety. She also coordinated the development of guidelines on the diagnostic-therapeutic approach to the main infectious diseases in children and the guidelines on the new vaccination calendar and on the recommended vaccinations for children. In 2012 she identified enterovirus C-117 and enterovirus C-118, two new enteroviruses, a genus of viruses resistant to chemical and physical offenses, which can survive in the environment for a long time, affecting mainly people with low immune defenses, like children and the elderly, with effects in some cases very serious. Since 2013 she has been coordinating the study group on vaccines (EVASG) of the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

Editorial work and publications

Since 2005 she is a member of the International Board of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, since 2009 she is Associate Editor of BMC Infectious Diseases, since 2011 she is Associate Editor of Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, since 2013 she is Associate Editor of Journal of Clinical Virology and she is part of Editorial Board Member of PLOS One, since 2014 she is Associate Editor of Medicine and since 2016 she is a member of the Editorial Board Member of AIMS Microbiology and of Npj Vaccines. Since 2016 she has also been editor of the magazine Edit Symposia and referee for numerous scientific journals such as Lancet, the British Medical Journal, Vaccine, the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and the American Journal of Physicians.

Susanna Esposito is the author of more than 1000 publications, including over 450 articles on international journals published on PubMed, and more than 1000 reports on invitation to conferences of national and international scientific societies, including:

(2016) Esposito S, Bonanni P, Maggi S, Tan L, Ansaldi F, Lopalco PL, Dagan R, Michel JP, van Damme P, Gaillat J, Prymula R, Vesikari T, Mussini C, Frank U, Osterhaus A, Celentano LP, Rossi M, Guercio V, Gavazzi G. Recommended immunization schedules for adults: Clinical practice guidelines by the Escmid Vaccine Study Group (EVASG), European Geriatric Medicine Society (EUGMS) and the World Association for Infectious Diseases and Immunological Disorders (WAidid). Human Vaccine Immunotherapeutics, 12:1777-1794. 

(2016) Esposito S, Principi N. European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Vaccine Study Group (EVASG). Strategies to develop vaccines of pediatric interest. Expert Review of Vaccines, Epub Sep 28. 

(2016) Esposito S, Guez S, Orenti A, Tadini G, Scuvera G, Corti L, Scala A, Biganzoli E, Berti E, Principi N. Autoimmunity and cytokine imbalance in inherited epidermolysis bullosa. International Journal of Molecular Science, 17(10):1625. 

(2016) Esposito S, Longo MR. Guillain-Barré syndrome. Autoimmunity Review, 16(1):96-101.

(2016) Principi N, Esposito S. Gut microbiota and central nervous system development. Journal of Infection, 73(6):536-546.

(2016) Esposito S, Pietro GD. Respiratory syncytial virus vaccines: an update on those in the immediate pipeline. Future Microbiology, 11:1479-1490.

(2016) Esposito S, Di Gangi M, Cardinale F, Baraldi E, Corsini I, Da Dalt L, Tovo PA, Correra A, Villani A, Sacco O, Tenero L, Dones P, Gambino M, Zampiero A, Principi N, Ita-CAP Study Group. Sensitivity and specificity of soluble triggering receptor Expressed on Myeloid Cells-1, Midregional Proatrial Natriuretic Peptide and Midregional Proadrenomedullin for Distinguishing Etiology and to Assess Severity in Community-Acquired Pneumonia. PLoS One, 11:e0163262.

(2015) Esposito S, Piralla A, Zampiero A, Bianchini S, Di Pietro G, Scala A, Pinzani R, Fossali E, Baldanti F, Principi N. Characteristics and their clinical relevance of respiratory syncytial virus types and genotypes circulating in Northern Italy in five consecutive winter seasons. PLoS One, 10:e0129369.

(2015) Esposito S, Giavoli C, Trombetta C, Bianchini S, Montinaro V, Spada A, Montomoli E, Principi N. Immunogenicity, safety and tolerability of inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine in overweight and obese children. Vaccine, Epub Nov 19. 

(2014) Esposito S, Corona F, Barzon L, Cuoco F, Squarzon L, Marcati G, Torcoletti M, Gambino M, Palù G, Principi N. Immunogenicity, safety and tolerability of a bivalent human papillomavirus vaccine in adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Expert Review of Vaccines, 13:1387-1393.

Awards and prizes

Susanna Esposito received the "Carlo Imperato" Award in 2002, as part of the 58th National Congress of the Italian Society of Pediatrics, for the best experimental work on "Respiratory diseases of the child", in the same year she was awarded the Young Investigator Award within the III World Congress of Pediatric Infectious Diseases (Santiago, Chile). In 2004 she received the Amici di Milano Award - Gold Medals awarded with the Silver Plate by the President of the Italian Republic and the Silver Plate of the President of the Lombardy Region, as the best medical researcher. In 2008 she was awarded the SIP Member Award as best researcher in general and specialist Pediatrics within the Italian Society of Pediatrics, in 2011 the Ambassador Prize for research abroad in the medical field and in 2014 the Certificate of Merit for the commitment and professionalism over the years dedicated to the health of children by the Amici del Policlinico and Mangiagalli Association. From 2011 to 2014 she was called to chair the Italian Society of Pediatric Infectious Disease (SITIP); from 2012 to 2015 she was president of the Commission of the World Health Organization for the eradication of measles and congenital rubella and continued to participate in the work of the Commission as Past President. Since 2015 she is president of the World Association for Infectious Diseases and Immunological Disorders (WAidid). 

Position/Role

Group leader of the "Molecular and Pharmaco-Epidemiology" unit at the Experimental Oncology department of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan (IEO). Faculty member of the European School of Molecular Medicine in Milan (ESMM). Adjunct professor in medical statistics at University of Milan

Professional career

She graduated in Statistics from the University of Bologna in 1993, continuing his education with a specialisation in Biometrics in 1995 at the University of Reading (UK). She joined the IEO in Milan in 1996, when the Institute was only 2 years old; she is constantly involved in research activities. In 2004 she obtained a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Birmingham (Public Health). Since 2009 she has been Deputy Director of the Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the IEO in Milan and in 2014 she became Consultant of Statistics for the Ethics Committee of Multimedica in Milan. In 2016 she became Adjunct Professor of Mean Statistics at the University of Milan and in 2017 she obtained the National Scientific Qualification to the functions of University Professor in Medical Statistics. Since 2018 she has been a faculty member at the European School of Molecular Medicine in Milan (SEMM) and Group leader of the "Molecular and Pharmaco-Epidemiology" unit at the Department of Experimental Oncology of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan (IEO).

Scientific results

Sara Gandini provides constant consultancy in a wide range of sectors, including statistical analysis of experiments and clinical studies, study designs and development of the protocols. She collaborates with researchers around the world and has conducted extensive research on the cancer epidemiology, including meta-analyses and pooled analyses, with the aim of better understanding cancer aetiology. In recent years her main interest has focused on the study of melanoma and related risk factors which has led to a change in the classification of the Lyon International Cancer Research Agency, defining exposure to the entire spectrum of ultraviolet carcinogens, including sunbed use. Sara Gandini thus came to analyse the role of vitamin D within the complex system of the human body. She is the Principal Investigator of two randomized studies that she designed and promoted to evaluate the effect of vitamin D on the prognosis of patients with melanoma and colon cancer and on the interaction between diet and intestinal microbiota.

In general, she believes in independent research and in her career she has been involved in primary prevention and study of biomarkers and also in Drug repositioning, the reuse in the oncological field of the active principle of commercially available drugs (Vitamin D, Metformin, Beta-blockers...), on which there are no economic interests and investments by pharmaceutical companies.

Editorial work and publications

Sara Gandini is the author of more than 200 articles in national and international hight impact journals, including:

(2019) Thomas AM, Manghi P, Asnicar F, Pasolli E, Armanini F, Zolfo M, Beghini F, Manara S, Karcher N, Pozzi C, Gandini S, Serrano D, Tarallo S, Francavilla A, Gallo G, Trompetto M, Ferrero G, Mizutani S, Shiroma H, Shiba S, Shibata T, Yachida S, Yamada T, Wirbel J, Schrotz-King P, Ulrich CM, Brenner H, Arumugam M,  Bork P, Zeller G, Cordero F, Dias-Neto E, Setubal JC, Tett A, Pardini B, Rescigno M, Waldron L, Naccarati A, Segata N. Metagenomic analysis of colorectal cancer datasets identifies cross-cohort microbial diagnostic signatures and a link with  choline degradation.Nat Med. 25(4):667-678. 

(2019) Wirbel J, Pyl PT, Kartal E, Zych K, Kashani A, Milanese A, Fleck JS, Voigt AY, Palleja A, Ponnudurai R, Sunagawa S, Coelho LP, Schrotz-King P, Vogtmann E, Habermann N, Niméus E, Thomas AM, Manghi P, Gandini S, Serrano D, Mizutani S, Shiroma H, Shiba S, Shibata T, Yachida S, Yamada T, Waldron L, Naccarati A, Segata N, Sinha R, Ulrich CM, Brenner H, Arumugam M, Bork P, Zeller G. Meta-analysis of fecal metagenomes reveals global microbial signatures that are specific for colorectal cancer. Nat Med. 25(4):679-689.

(2016) Le CP, Nowell CJ, Kim-Fuchs C, Botteri E, Hiller JG, Ismail H, Pimentel MA, Chai MG, Karnezis T, Rotmensz N, Renne G, Gandini S, et al. Chronic stress in mice remodels lymph vasculature to promote tumour cell dissemination. Nature Communications, 7:10634. 

(2014) Gandini S, Puntoni M, Heckman-Stoddard BM, Dunn BK, Ford L, DeCensi A, Szabo E. Metformin and cancer risk and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis taking into account biases and confounders. Cancer Prevention Research (Philadelphia), 7(9):867-85. 

(2012) Boniol M, Autier P, Boyle P, Gandini S. Cutaneous melanoma attributable to sunbed use: systematic review and meta-analysis. British Medical Journal, 345:e4757. 

(2012) Zittermann A, Iodice S, Pilz S, Grant WB, Bagnardi V, Gandini S. Vitamin D deficiency and mortality risk in the general population: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 95(1):91-100. 

(2011) Gandini S, Boniol M, Haukka J, et al. Meta-analysis of observational studies of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and colorectal, breast and prostate cancer and colorectal adenoma. International Journal of Cancer, 128(6):1414-24. 

(2010) DeCensi A, Puntoni M, Goodwin P, Cazzaniga M, Gennari A, Bonanni B, Gandini S. Metformin and Cancer Risk in Diabetic Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Cancer Prevention Research (Philadelphia), 3(11):1451-61. 

(2007) Autier P, Gandini S. Vitamin D suppl. and total mortality - A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Archives of Internal Medicine, 167(16):1730-7. 

(2005) Gandini S, et al. Meta-analysis of risk factors for cutaneous melanoma: II. Sun exposure. European Journal of Cancer, 41(1):45-60. 

(2005) Gandini S, et al. Meta-analysis of risk factors for cutaneous melanoma: I. Common and atypical naevi. European Journal of Cancer, 41(1):28-44. 

(2005) Gandini S, et al. Meta-analysis of risk factors for cutaneous melanoma: III. Family history, actinic damage and phenotypic factors. European Journal of Cancer, 41(14):2040-59.

Awards and prizes

In 2008 she won the Bruno Martinetto award for research on cancer prevention.

In 2014 she was unanimously elected President of the independent scientific society EuroSkin that deals with primary prevention.

Since 2019 she is member of the Top Italian Women Scientist Club of Onda (Osservatorio nazionale sulla salute delle donne e di genere), an Italian observatory on women and gender health.

Position/Role

Chief of the Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Department of the "Bianchi-Melacrino-Morelli" Hospital in Reggio Calabria

Professional career

She graduated in Medicine at the University of Messina in 1978 and she became a Nephrology Specialist in 1983 at the same University.  She spent 2 years (1981-1982) as a Clinical Scientist at the Renal and Transplantation Unit of the Western Infirmary in  Glasgow (Scotland).

She has attended several Courses in Hypertension, Clinical Epidemiology and Molecular Genetics at the  Erasmus University in  Rotterdam (The Netherland).  In addition, she has attended many other international and High Quality Nephrology Courses. Since 2001, she is recognised by the European Society of Hypertension as a Hypertension Specialist.

Scientific results

Her fields of interest are Hypertension, CV complications in renal patients including dialysis patients, renal disease progression, Epidemiology of Renal disease and molecular genetics of renal diseases and Hypertension.  

She is involved in many national and international research studies such as "Lung Water by Ultra-Sound (US) guided treatment to prevent death and cardiovascular complications in high-risk end stage renal disease patients with cardiomyopathy (LUST STUDY)". The aim of this study is to create a database with clinical tests performed in very high-risk dialysis patients in order to investigate the impact of volume expansion  which is a well-known CV and renal risk factor.

The LUST Study is a randomized clinical trial aimed at testing whether the application of chest US may reduce mortality, heart failure,  myocardial  infarction,  progression  of  cardiac  disease  and  hospitalizations  in  dialysis  patients  with myocardial ischemia (a history of myocardial infarction with or without ST elevation or unstable angina, acute coronary  syndrome  documented  by  ECG  recordings  and cardiac  troponins  or  stable  angina  pectoris  with documented coronary artery disease by prior coronary angiography or ECG) and/or stage III-IV NYHA heart failure over a 2 years follow-up.

Francesca Mallamaci is Chairwoman of the ERA-EDTA working Group EURECA-m. She has contributed to building up a large registry of European dialysis patients in order to identify and validate traditional and non-traditional CV risk factors.

Editorial work and publications

Francesca Mallamaci is Associate Editor of the journal Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation and Editor Emeritus of Journal of Nephrology, the official English-language journal of the Italian Society of Nephrology (where she was Editor in Chief from 2006 to 2012). 

She is the author of numerous articles published in national and international scientific journals, including:

(2019) Mallamaci F, Tripepi G, D'Arrigo G, Borrelli S, Garofalo C, Stanzione G, Provenzano M, De Nicola L, Conte G, Minutolo R, Zoccali C. Blood Pressure Variability, Mortality, and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients. Clinical Journal of American Society of Nephrology, 14(2):233-240.

(2018) Mallamaci F, Tripepi R, D'Arrigo G, Porto G, Versace MC, Marino C, Sanguedolce MC, Testa A, Tripepi G, Zoccali C. Long-term blood pressure monitoring by office and 24-h ambulatory blood pressure in renal transplant patients: a longitudinal study. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 34(9):1558-1564.

(2018) Mallamaci F, D'Arrigo G, Tripepi R, Leonardis D, Porto G, Testa A, Abd ElHafeez S, Mafrica A, Versace MC, Provenzano PF, Tripepi G, Mancini P, Zoccali C. Office, standardized and 24-h ambulatory blood pressure and renal function loss in renal transplant patients. Journal of Hypertension, 36(1):119-125.

(2017) Mallamaci F, Tripepi G. Pulmonary congestion and hypertension in hemodialysis patients, Giornale Italiano di Nefrologia, 34(Suppl 69):36-40.

(2016) Mallamaci F. Highlights of the 2015 ERA-EDTA congress: chronic kidney disease, hypertension. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 31(7):1044-6.

(2016) Mallamaci F, Torino C, Tripepi G. Physical exercise in haemodialysis patients: time to start. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 31(8):1196-8.

(2016) Mallamaci F, Tripepi R, Leonardis D, Mafrica A, Versace MC, Provenzano F, Tripepi G, Zoccali C. Nocturnal Hypertension and Altered Night-Day BP Profile and Atherosclerosis in Renal Transplant Patients. Transplantation, 100(10):2211-8.

(2015) Mallamaci F, Testa A, Leonardis D, Tripepi R, Pisano A, Spoto B, Sanguedolce MC, Parlongo RM, Tripepi G, Zoccali C. A genetic marker of uric acid level, carotid atherosclerosis, and arterial stiffness: a family-based study. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 65(2):294-302.

(2015) Mallamaci F, Tripepi R, Leonardis D, Mafrica A, Versace MC, Provenzano F, Tripepi G, Zoccali C. Nocturnal Hypertension and Altered Night-Day BP Profile and Atherosclerosis in Renal Transplant Patients. Transplantation, 100(10):2211-8.

(2015) Mallamaci F, Testa A, Leonardis D, Tripepi R, Pisano A, Spoto B, Sanguedolce MC, Parlongo RM, Tripepi G, Zoccali C. A genetic marker of uric acid level, carotid atherosclerosis, and arterial 

Awards and prizes

Several of Professor Mallamaci's abstracts have received awards at national and international conferences such as the European Renal Association (ERA-EDTA) and the American Society of Nephrology Congress.

In the field of chronic renal failure, she is ranked 19th in the international ranking created and periodically updated by the University of Baltimore EXPERTSCAPE. 

In 2014, he chaired the Scientific Committee of the National Congress of the Italian Society of Nephrology. She is also a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Congress of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation (ERA-EDTA) in Vienna in 2016 and of the same committee for the congress to be held in Madrid in 2017. Francesca Mallamaci was also formally invited to represent the European Society of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation at the European Society of Paediatric Nephrology and American Society of Nephrology Congresses in 2015.

Position/Role

Geriatrician at the Italian Auxiological Institute "Mosé Bianchi" in Milan

Professional career

After obtaining a degree in Medicine and Surgery, at the University of Milan, from 1976 she continued her training as a researcher in Internal Medicine until 1991. From 2007 to 2010 she directed the experimental research laboratory on aging of the IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italian and University of Milan and of the Department of Medical and Rehabilitative Sciences with Geriatric-Cardio-Vascular specialization of the IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano. Until 2014 she was responsible for the School of Specialization in Geriatrics, and for the Master's Degree in Rehabilitation Sciences of the Health Professions.  From 2010 to 2016 she directed the U.O.C. (complex operating unit) of Geriatrics at the Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico in Milan in agreement with the University of Milan, where during the same period she taught as associate professor of Geriatrics at the Department of Clinical and Community Sciences. Since 2020, she has been a geriatrician at the Auxiologico "Mosé Bianchi", the Italian Auxiological Institute's scientifically oriented hospital and care centre in Milan.

Scientific results

Daniela Mari has been leading the Milan research group that studies cardiovascular risk factors and their genetic variants in longevity and centenarians, and neurodegenerative diseases in the elderly for many years. During the period spent as head of the experimental research laboratory on aging of the Italian Auxological Institute of Milan, Daniela Mari and colleagues focus on the study of the genetic bases of longevity, investigating the characteristics of a large number of seventy-year-old children of centenarians. To this end they also resort to DNA methylation analysis, or to an epigenetic modification of DNA, a process which consists in the binding of a methyl group (a carbon atom bound to three hydrogen atoms) to a nitrogenous base. They also investigate the dose-effectiveness relationship of oral anticoagulant therapy (TAO) in the elderly, genetic and non-genetic risk factors in cerebrovascular diseases and the influence of obesity and metabolic status on aging and age-related diseases.

Editorial work and publications

Daniela Mari is Associate Editor in the Editorial Board of the Journal of Gerontology & Geriatrics (JGG).

She is also the author of numerous national and international scientific publications, including:

(2016) Esposito S, Mari D, Bergamaschini L, et al. Pneumococcal colonization in older adults. Immunity & Ageing, 13(1).

(2016) Abbate C, Trimarchi PD, Rotondo E, Mari D, et al. Spontaneous confabulations in amnestic-mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease: a new (yet old) atypical variant?. Neurocase.

(2016) Muscogiuri D, Mari D, et al. 25 Hydroxyvitamin D Deficiency and Its Relationship to Autoimmune Thyroid Disease in the Elderly. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(9):850.

(2016) Abbate C, Caputo L, Damanti S, Mari D, et al. Reversible Parkinson's Dementia Associated with Withdrawal of Androgen-Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

(2016) Arosio B, Casati M, Gussago C, Mari D, et al. Adenosine Type A2A Receptor in Peripheral Cell from Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease, Vascular Dementia, and Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: A New/Old Potential Target. Journal of Alzheimer's disease, 54(2):1-9.

(2016) Ogliari G, Smit RAJ, van der Spoel E, Mari D, et al. Thyroid Status and Mortality Risk in Older Adults With Normal Thyrotropin: Sex Differences in the Milan Geriatrics 75+ Cohort Study. The Journals of Gerontology Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences.

(2016) Dionigi Rossi P, Bilotta C, Consonni D, Mari D, et al. Predictors of clinical events occurring during hospital stay among elderly patients admitted to medical wards in Italy. European Journal of Internal Medicine, 32.

(2016) Gussago C, Arosio B, Guerini F, Mari D, et al. Impact of vitamin D receptor polymorphisms in centenarians. Endocrine.

(2016) Oldoni E, Fumagalli GG, Serpente M, Mari D, et al. PRNP P39L Variant is a Rare Cause of Frontotemporal Dementia in Italian Population. Journal of Alzheimer's disease: JAD, 50(2).

(2015) Hovath S, Pirazzini C, Bacalini MG, Mari D, et al. Decreased epigenetic age of PBMCs from Italian semi-supercentenarians and their offspring. Aging, 7(12).

Daniela Mari is also the author of the popular scientific essay A spasso con i centenari.. L'arte di vivere bene invecchiando (Il Saggatiore, 2017).

Awards and prizes

Daniela Mari obtained a grant from the MIUR, the Ministry of Health and the Lombardy Region for studies on haemostasis, the genetics of aging and longevity. Since 2010  she has been a member of the Regional table for the appropriateness in Medicine and of the "Fundamental Group" Regional Technical Table of the Directorate General for Health of the Lombardy Region. In 2012 she received the position of "Scientific Expert" of the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche for the review of research projects. Since 2013 she has been member of the register of auditors for the evaluation of ministerial programs and research products (ANVUR), since the same year she is part of the European Commission's Action-Group A3 “European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Aging: Action For Prevention Of Functional Decline And Frailty ”. Daniela Mari is also a partner in the European study: MID- FRAIL Study FP7-Health 2011.

Position/Role

Researcher in Pharmacology, University of Camerino

Professional career

Dr.  Micioni Di Bonaventura graduated at the University of Camerino (MC), Italy in 2008 with a degree in Pharmacy. She was awarded her Ph.D. in Chemical, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biotechnology from the University of Camerino in 2012, after working one year at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. She received her postdoctoral training at University of Zurich, at University of Camerino and at Department of Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York.

Dr. Micioni Di Bonaventura is currently a Researcher in Pharmacology at University of Camerino.

Scientific results

The main research interests of Maria Vittoria Micioni Di Bonaventura focus on the study of eating disorders. During her PhD, she worked on behavioral pharmacology to develop a new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of binge eating episodes. Binge eating is a central feature of many eating disorders, including bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and anorexia nervosa binge/purge subtype, characterized by compulsive consumption of a large quantity of palatable food in a short period of time. The aim of these studies is to elucidate how caloric restrictions and stress may contribute to the generation and maintenance of an eating disorder, testing several compounds in a preclinical model. One of the main target of Maria Vittoria Micioni Di Bonaventura is to identify the triggering causes of these disorders in order to develop an effective drug therapy. Her latest research project is focused on the development of a new pharmacological approach to treat obesity and bingeing-related eating disorders, studying the role of the adenosine: an important modulator in the central and peripheral nervous system.

Editorial work and publications

Author of several scientific publications including:

(2018) Pucci M, Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, Zaplatic E, Bellia F, Maccarrone M, Cifani C, D'Addario C. Transcriptional regulation of the endocannabinoid system in a rat model of binge-eating behavior reveals a selective modulation of the hypothalamic fatty acid amide hydrolase gene. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 52(1):51-60. 

(2018) Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, Ubaldi M, Giusepponi ME, Rice KC, Massi M, Ciccocioppo R, Cifani. Hypothalamic CRF1 receptor mechanisms are not sufficient to account for binge-like palatable food consumption in female rats. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 50(10):1194-1204.

(2017) Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, Lutz TA, Romano A, Pucci M, Geary N, Asarian L, Cifani C. Estrogenic suppression of binge-like eating elicited by cyclic food restriction and frustrative-nonreward stress in female rats. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 50(6):624-635.

(2016) Pucci M, Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, Giusepponi ME, Romano A, Filaferro M, Maccarrone M, Ciccocioppo R, Cifani C, D'Addario C. Epigenetic regulation of nociceptin/orphanin FQ and corticotropin-releasing factor system genes in frustration stress-induced binge-like palatable food consumption. Addiction Biology, 21(6):1168-1185. 

(2016) Romano A, Tempesta B, Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, Gaetani S. From Autism to Eating Disorders and More: The Role of Oxytocin in Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 9:497. 

(2015) Pucci M, Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, et al. P.1.a.021 Genetic and epigenetic regulation of cannabinoid receptor type-1 in obesity. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 25, 2, S169-S170. 

(2015) Cifani C, Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, Pucci M, D'Addario C. Regulation of hypothalamic neuropeptides gene expression in diet induced obesity resistant rats: Possible targets for obesity prediction?. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 9, 187. 

(2015) Bedse G, RomanoA, [...] Micioni di Bonaventura MV, et al. Inhibition of Anandamide Hydrolysis Enhances Noradrenergic and GABAergic Transmission in the Prefrontal Cortex and Basolateral Amygdala of Rats Subjected to Acute Swim Stress. Journal of Neuroscience Research, 93(5):777-87. 

(2014) Di Francesco A, Falconi A, Di Germanio C, Micioni di Bonaventura MV, et al. Extravirgin olive oil up-regulates CB1 tumor suppressor gene in human colon cancer cells and in rat colon via epigenetic mechanisms. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 26(3):250-8. 

(2014) D'Addario C, Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, Pucci M, Romano A, Gaetani S, Ciccocioppo R, Cifani C, Maccarrone M. Endocannabinoid signaling and food addiction. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Revviews, 47:203-24. 

(2014) Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, Ciccocioppo R, Romano A, Bossert JM, Rice KC, Ubaldi M, St Laurent R, Gaetani S, Massi M, Shaham Y, Cifani C. Role of bed nucleus of the stria terminalis corticotrophin-releasing factor receptors in frustration stress-induced binge-like palatable food consumption in female rats with a history of food restriction. Journal of Neuroscience. 20;34(34):11316-24. 

Awards and prizes

Maria Vittoria Micioni Di Bonaventura has received numerous awards for her national and international academic career.

In 2013 she received the Farmindustria- Società Italiana di Farmacologia (SIF) award for her scientific production in the field of pharmacology. 

In 2014 she won three travel awards for papers presented at two congresses: the 9th Federations of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum of Neuroscience and the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Workshop for Junior Scientists in Europe and the 12th International Summer School of Neuroscience "Dopamine", of the Federation of European Pharmacological Societies (EPHAR), SIF and the Italian Society of Neuropsychopharmacology (SINPF). 

In 2014 she was also selected for the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) InEurope Short Stay Program that she carried out in Zurich, to study the influence of ovarian hormones during binge eating episodes. 

In 2015 she was awarded both during the Joint Meeting European Behavioural Pharmacology Society (EBPS) - European Brain and Behaviour Society (EBBS) for the results obtained during the research period in Zurich, and at the 9th World Congress IBRO in Rio de Janeiro, for the study presented during the congress on the role of adenosine in the control of binge eating episodes. In 2016 she won the "L'Oréal-UNESCO Prize for Women and Science 2016" as part of the "For Women in Science" Programme of the "Fondation l'Oréal" in collaboration with L'Oréal Italia and UNESCO.

In 2017 she received by the Italian Society of Pharmacology the "Merck Sharp Dohme corporation award" for the best 5 pharmacological research projects.

Position/Role

Full Professor of Neuroscience at the University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan and Head of Unit "In vivo Human Molecular and Structural Neuroimaging", Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan

Professional career

After graduating in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Milan, she continued her training by specialising in Neurology, followed by another in Radiology, also at the University of Milan. In 1987-1988 she left Italy for London where she was a researcher at the Royal Post-Graduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, University of London. In 1989, on her return to Italy, she became a researcher at the Istituto Tecnologie Biomediche Avanzate del C.N.R. in Milan; from 1991 to 2000 she was research director at the Istituto di Neuroscienze e Bioimmagini del C.N.R. in Milan. Since 2001 she has been full professor of Neuroscience at the University Vita-Salute San Raffaele in Milan, Head of the "In vivo Human Molecular and Structural Neuroimaging" Unit of the Division of Neuroscience of the San Raffaele Scientific Institute and coordinator of the Neuroimaging Diagnostic Activity Area, Nuclear Medicine, of the San Raffaele Hospital. Since 2021 she is also Director of the School of Specialization in Neuropsychology, Faculty of Psychology.

Scientific results

Daniela Perani and her group are developing numerous research projects in the field of structural (MRI) and molecular (PET) neuroimaging, techniques applied to the study of neurodegenerative diseases. Daniela Perani's studies are also carried out in the field of functional neuroimaging (fMRI) for the study of normal cognitive functions and their modifications associated with neurological diseases. In fact, the use of functional neuroimaging techniques (such as SPECT, PET, fMRI) enables diagnostic investigations in numerous cognitive neurosciences such as neuropsychology, neurophysiology (sensorimotor systems) and neurology (study of dementia, cerebrovascular diseases, extrapyramidal diseases such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and prion diseases, caused by the accumulation in the brain of an abnormal protein, the prion). These techniques provide the possibility of investigating in vivo, in normal subjects or patients, functional brain activity during the performance of sensorimotor or cognitive tasks. PET and fMRI techniques have demonstrated the interaction between blood flow and brain function. These high spatial resolution methods allow a precise anatomical localisation of regional brain activation, which in turn represents the functional correlate of in vivo mental activity.

Editorial work and publications

She is author of more that 250 full papers, books and chapters, including:

(2013) Klunk WE, Perani D. Amyloid and neurodegeneration: Converging and diverging paths. Neurology, 81(20):1728-1729. 

(2013) Garibotto V, Tettamanti M, Marcone A, Florea I, Panzacchi A, Moresco R, Virta JR, Rinne J, Cappa SF, Perani D. Cholinergic activity correlates with reserve proxies in Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiology of Aging, 34(11):2694.e13-8. 

(2013) Iannaccone S, Cerami C, Alessio M, Garibotto V, Panzacchi A, Olivieri S, Gelsomino G, Moresco RM, Perani D. In vivo microglia activation in very early dementia with Lewy bodies, comparison with Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonism & Related Disorders, 19(1): 47-52. 

(2013) Consonni M, Cafiero R, Marin D, Tettamanti M, Iadanza A, Fabbro F, Perani D. Neural convergence for language comprehension and grammatical class production in highly proficient bilinguals is independent of age of acquisition. Cortex, 49(5):1252-1258. 

(2013) Nordberg A, Carter SF, Rinne J, Drzezga A, Brooks DJ, Vandenberghe R, Perani D, Forsberg A, Långström B, Scheinin N, Karrasch M, Någren K, Grimmer T, Miederer I, Edison P, Okello A, Van Laere K, Nelissen N, Vandenbulcke M, Garibotto V, Almkvist O, Kalbe E, Hinz R, Herholz K. A European multicentre PET study of fibrillar amyloid in alzheimer's disease. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, 40(1):104-114. 

(2012) Tettamanti M, Rognoni E, Cafiero R, Costa T, Galati D, Perani D. Distinct pathways of neural coupling for different basic emotions. Neuroimage, 59(2):1804-1817. 

(2012) Babiloni C, Buffo P, Vecchio F, Marzano N, Del Percio C, Spada D, Rossi S, Bruni I, Rossini PM, Perani D. Brains "in concert": Frontal oscillatory alpha rhythms and empathy in professional musicians. Neuroimage, 60(1):105-116.  

(2012) Marcone A, Garibotto V, Moresco RM, Florea I, Panzacchi A, Carpinelli A, Virta JR, Tettamanti M, Borroni B, Padovani A, Bertoldo A, Herholz K, Rinne JO, Cappa SF, Perani D. [11]-MP4A PET cholinergic measurements in amnestic mild cognitive impairment, probable alzheimer's disease, and dementia with lewy bodies: A bayesian method and voxel-based analysis. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 31(2):4387-399.

(2012) Canessa N, Alemanno F, Riva F, Zani A, Proverbio AM, Mannara N, Perani D, Cappa SF. The neural bases of social intention understanding: The role of interaction goals. PLoS ONE, 7(7). 

(2012) Lalli S, Piacentini S, Franzini A, Panzacchi A, Cerami C, Messina G, Ferré F, Perani D, Albanese A. Epidural premotor cortical stimulation in primary focal dystonia: Clinical and 18F-fluoro deoxyglucose positron emission tomography open study. Movement Disorders Journal, 27(4):533-428.

Awards and prizes

Daniela Perani is the Italian Neuroimaging Coordinator of the National Alzheimer NETWORKS Finalised Project 2014-2017. She is also a member of the Italian Society of Neuropsychology, the International Society of Neuroscience (ISFNSCI) and a member of the International Neuropsychological Symposium, since 2000.

Position/Role

Dermatologist

Professional career

After graduating in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Turin in 2010, she continued her education with a specialization in Dermatology achieved in 2016, followed by a PhD in molecular medicine. Martina Sanlorenzo began her career as a researcher in Turin in 2011, in 2012 she was a Medical fellow at the Ayder Refferal Hospital in Mekelle, Ethiopia. The following year she was a Research fellow at the Ortiz lab, of the Dermatology Department of the University of California in San Francisco and since 2013 she has also been a Medical fellow in the Melanoma and cutaneous oncology center, at the same Californian university.

In 2016 she began her research at the Institute of Cancer Research at the Medical University of Vienna, where she moved and started a private medical practice.

Scientific results

Martina Sanlorenzo in 2016 won the "L'Oreal Italia for women and science" award in partnership with Unesco thanks to her project entitled "Interaction between molecular target drugs and immunotherapy in the treatment of metastatic melanoma: preclinical model for the evaluation of potential synergism ". She is precisely through this award that it will be possible for the researcher to conduct clinical research studies that aim to integrate two therapeutic approaches, on the one hand the therapies that target the melanoma cells (one of the most aggressive and difficult to cure tumors) and by the other is those that aim to enhance the immune system's response to cancer. 

Editorial work and publications

She is the author of numerous national and international publications, including:

(2016) Dapavo P, Vujic I, Fierro MT, Quaglino P, Sanlorenzo M. The infliximab biosimilar in the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 75(4):736-9. 

(2016) Posch C, Moslehi H, Sanlorenzo M, Green G, Vujic I, Panzer-Grümayer R, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S. Pharmacological inhibitors of c-KIT block mutant c-KIT mediated migration of melanocytes and melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo. Oncotarget. 

(2016) Ribero S, Balagna E, Sportoletti Baduel E, Picciotto F, Sanlorenzo M, Fierro MT, Quaglino P, Macripo G. Efficacy of electrochemotherapy for eruptive legs keratoacanthomas. Dermatology and Therapy, 29(5):345-348. 

(2016) Posch C, Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Oses-Prieto JA, Cholewa BD, Kim ST, Ma J, Lai K, Zekhtser M, Esteve-Puig R, Green G, Chand S, Burlingame AL, Panzer-Grümayer R, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S. Phospho-proteomic analysis reveals increased CK2α kinase activity in NRAS(Q61) mutant melanoma. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 136(10):2041-8. 

(2016) Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Posch C, Ma J, Lin K, Lai K, Lee D, Vujic M, Oses-Prieto JA, Chand S, Rodriguez-Peralto JL, Burlingame A, Ortiz-Urda S. Oncogenic KIT mutations in different exons lead to specific changes in melanocyte phospho-proteome. Journal of Proteomics, 144:140-7. 

(2016) Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Esteve-Puig R, Vujic M, Kwong A, Tsumura A, Murphy R, Moy A, Posch C, Monshi B, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S. Acyl protein thioesterase 1 and 2 (APT-1, APT-2) inhibitors palmostatin B, ML348 and ML349 have different effects on NRAS mutant melanoma cells. Oncotarget, 7(6):7297-306. 

(2015) Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Ortiz-Urda S. Time-Dependent Measurement of Adverse Events-Reply. JAMA Dermatology, 151(12):1392-1393. 

(2015) Sanlorenzo M, Ribero S, Osella Abate S, Mariani S, Strignano P, Salizzoni M, Savoia P, Fierro MT, Quaglino P. Genetic mutations in primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus: case report and literature review. Giornale Italiano di Dermatologia e Venereologia. 

(2015) Posch C, Cholewa BD, Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Ma J, Kim ST, Kleffel S, Schatton T, Rappersberger K, Gutteridge R, Ahmad N, Ortiz-Urda S. Combined Inhibition of MEK and Plk1 has Synergistic Anti-Tumor Activity in NRAS Mutant Melanoma. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 135(10):2475-83. 

(2015) Ribero S, Gualano MR, Osella-Abate S, Scaioli G, Bert F, Sanlorenzo M, Balagna E, Fierro MT, Macripò G, Sapino A, Siliquini R, Quaglino P. Histological regression in primary melanoma with sentinel lymph node status: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Dermatology, 151(12):1301-1307.

Awards and prizes

Among the numerous awards received, in 2015 she received the Euroderm Excellence and in 2016 she won the L’Oreal-UNESCO Italy - For Women in Science 2015-2016 award.

Position/Role

Full professor at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari and President of the School of Specialisation in Food Inspection.

Professional career

After graduating in Pharmacy from the University of Bari in 1984, he began teaching and researching at various Italian and foreign universities: University of Teramo, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Rome, University of Tirana and University of Western Brittany (France). In the three-year period 2003/2006 he held the position of president of the degree course in Animal Science and Food Health at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Bari and, at the same faculty, in the three-year period 2007/2010 he was president of the master degree course in Hygiene and Quality of Food of Animal Origin. From 2008 to 2014, she was President of the School of Specialisation in Hygiene and Technology of Milk and Milk Products and coordinator of the PhD course in Production, Quality and Safety of Food of Animal Origin from cycle XX to XXVI. She is currently President of the School of Specialisation in Inspection of Food of Animal Origin and is a member of the board of teachers of the PhD School in Animal Health and Zoonoses. In 2014 he was appointed to collaborate with the Department of Agri-food Resources, Agriculture, Food, Land Reform, Hunting and Fishing, Forestry of the Apulia Region for the drafting of the Regional Law on Beekeeping. Since 2017, she has been a member of the Regional Coordination and Monitoring Board for the Coordination and Cooperation between Administrations and Bodies involved in food safety and veterinary public health under the Regional Prevention Plan 2014-2018 (TCM) at the Department for Health Promotion, Social Wellbeing and Sport for All (Apulia Region).

Scientific results

Professor Tantillo is scientifically responsible for numerous national and international research projects, aimed at food hygiene control, ascertaining the nutritional and functional quality of food, developing technological innovations for food preservation, and uncovering health and commercial fraud using biomolecular techniques. Among its research activities are the control of the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in food matrices, chemical-physical analysis for the determination and assessment of chemical risk in food, DNA-based analysis for the identification of species in prepared or processed foods. 

Editorial work and publications

She is the author of the book La produzione igienica della carne. Gli stabilimenti di macellazione e i laboratori di sezionamento (Edagricole 2001), of 3 chapters of the text Igiene e tecnologia  degli alimenti di origine animale (edited by Giampaolo Colavita, Le Point Veterinaire Italie, 2012) and of the popular volume Carta d'identità dei prodotti tradizionali pugliesi (Infosei, 2007).

She is also author/co-author of numerous scientific publications, including:

[2018] Terio, Valentina, Bottaro, Marilisa, Di Pinto, Angela, Fusco, Giovanna, Barresi, Teodosio, Tantillo, Giuseppina, Martella, Vito (2018). Occurrence of Aichi virus in retail shellfish in Italy. FOOD MICROBIOLOGY, 74: 120-124.

[2017 ] Terio V, Bottaro M, Pavoni E, Losio M N, Serraino A, Giacometti F, Martella V, Mottola A, Di Pinto A, Tantillo G. Occurrence of hepatitis A and E and norovirus GI and GII in ready-to-eat vegetables in Italy. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 249:61-65, ISSN: 0168-1605, doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro. 2017.03.008.

[2017] Di Pinto A, Terio V, Marchetti P, Bottaro M, Mottola A, Bozzo G, Bonerba E, Ceci E, Tantillo G. DNA-based approach for species identification of goat-milk products, Food Chemistry, 229:93-97, ISSN: 0308-8146, doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem. 2017.02.067.

[2016] Sportelli M C, Picca R A, Ronco R, Bonerba E, Tantillo G, Pollini M, Sannino A, Valentini A, Cataldi T, Cioffi N. Investigation of industrial polyurethane foams modified with antimicrobial copper nanoparticles, Materials, 9, ISSN: 1996-1944, doi: 10.3390/ma9070544.

[2016] Calvano C D, Picca R A, Bonerba E, Tantillo G, Cioffi N, Palmisano F. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry analysis of proteins and lipids in Escherichia coli exposed to copper ions and nanoparticles, Journal of Mass Spectometry. 828-840, ISSN: 1076-5174, doi: 10.1002/jms.3823.

[2016] Mottola A, Bonerba E, Bozzo G, Marchetti P, Celano G V, Colao V, Terio V, Tantillo G, Figueras M J, Di Pinto A. Occurrence of emerging food-borne pathogenic Arcobacter spp. isolated from pre-cut (ready-to-eat) vegetables. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 236:33-37, ISSN: 0168-1605, doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro. 2016.07.012.

[2016] Mottola A, Bonerba E, Figueras M J, Pérez-Cataluña A, Marchetti P, Serraino A, Bozzo G, Terio V, Tantillo G, Di Pinto A. Occurrence of potentially pathogenic arcobacters in shellfish, Food Microbiology, 57:23-27, ISSN: 0740-0020, doi: 10.1016/j.fm.2015.12.010.

[2015] Ditaranto N, Van der Werf I D, Picca R A, Sportelli M C, Giannossa L.C., Bonerba E, Tantillo G, Sabbatini L. Characterization and behaviour of ZnO-based nanocomposites designed for the control of biodeterioration of patrimonial stoneworks. New Journal of Chemistry, 39:6836-6843, ISSN: 1144-0546, doi: 10.1039/c5nj00527b.

[2015] Di Pinto A, Bottaro M, Bonerba E, Bozzo G, Ceci E., Marchetti P, Mottola A, Tantillo G. Occurrence of mislabeling in meat products using DNA-based assay, Journal of Food Science and Tecnology, 52:2479-2484, ISSN: 0022-1155, doi: 10.1007/s13197-014-1552-Y.

[2014] Bonerba E, Ceci E, Montemurro N, Tantillo G, Di Pinto A, Celano G, Bozzo G. Determinazione quantitativa in HPLC Uv-Vis di fitofarmaci nel miele mediante procedura estrattiva QuEChERS. Italian Journal of Food Safety, 3:85-91, ISSN: 2239-7132, doi: 10.4081/ijfs.2014.1647.

[2014] Di Pinto A, Bonerba E, Bozzo G, Ceci E, Terio V, Tantillo G. Occurence of potentially enterotoxigenic Bacillus cereus in infant milk powder. European Food Research and Technoogy, ISSN: 1438-2377, doi: Doi: 10.1007/s00217-013-1988-8.

Awards and prizes

The research group coordinated by Professor Tantillo of the Food Safety Section of the Department of Veterinary Medicine in Bari was ranked first in the national ranking of "Evaluation of Research Quality" in the period 2004/2010 (SSD VET/04). Giuseppina Tantillo is a member of the AIVI National Scientific Committee and, since 2013, as an external expert, of the RINA S.p.A. Certification Technical Committee. (Fisheries Sector, Ge).