Position/Role

Research Director, associate to Frascati National Laboratory of INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

Professional career

She graduated in Physics at the University La Sapienza of Rome in 1971, continuing her training at the Frascati National Laboratories of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), where she became a permanent researcher in 1975. During her experimental research in particle physics she also worked at CERN in Geneva and at the DESY laboratory in Hamburg. Since the end of the '80s she has devoted herself mainly to astro-particle physics conducting experiments at the INFN Laboratory of Gran Sasso, the largest and most important underground laboratory dedicated to astro-particle physics in the world in terms of number of experiments and complexity of technological and security infrastructures. In 2009 she became director of the Gran Sasso Laboratory, the first woman to hold this position, until 2012.

Scientific results

Lucia Votano carries out her basic research in the field of experimental physics of high-energy elementary particles and in the field of astro-particle physics, a field that links astrophysics, cosmology and the study of fundamental interactions of elementary particles. His main interests have for many years been in the study of neutrinos, an elementary particle of which there are three types with different "flavours". Along with photons, neutrinos are the most numerous particles in the universe of ordinary matter. They interact very little with ordinary matter and are therefore able to pass through large celestial bodies undisturbed, bringing us information from the far corners of the universe. With the international OPERA project at the Gran Sasso Laboratory, Lucia Votano and her team were able to measure directly for the first time in the world the oscillation (transformation) of muon-flavoured neutrinos into tau-type neutrinos. OPERA used the neutrino beam produced at CERN in Geneva and sent to the Gran Sasso laboratory on a journey 730 km long under the Earth's crust and about 2.4 milliseconds in duration. The oscillation showed that neutrinos have mass, albeit very small: a sign of new physics beyond the Standard Model of elementary particles and fundamental interactions. Since 2015 Lucia Votano has been working with other colleagues on the international JUNO (Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory) experiment, which will be set up in southern China by 2020. This is a gigantic underground detector of the latest generation for neutrinos, which will be used to further investigate their nature through the phenomenon of oscillation, which allows them to change from one type (of flavour) to another.

Editorial work and publications

The research activities have resulted in about 300 papers on international scientific journals and in presentations at international conferences. Among them:

(2018) M. Reguzzoni et al., GIGJ: a crustal gravity model of the Guangdong Province for predicting the geoneutrino signal at the JUNO experiment.
arXiv:1901.01945 [physics.geo-ph].

(2018) N. Agafonova et al. Final Results of the OPERA Experiment on ντ appearance in the CNGS Neutrino Beam. Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 211801.

(2018) N. Agafonova et al. Final results of the search for νμ→νe oscillations with the OPERA detector in the CNGS beam. JHEP 1806, 151.

(2018) N. Agafonova et al. Measurement of the cosmic ray muon flux seasonal variation with the OPERA detector. arXiv:1810.10783 [hep-ex].

(2018) F. Riggi et al. Time and orientation long-distance correlations between extensive air showers detected by the MRPC telescopes of the EEE Project Nuovo Cim. C40, 6, 196.

(2018) M. Grassi et al. Charge reconstruction in large-area photomultipliers
JINST 13 (02): P02008.

(2018) A. Paoloni, A. Mengucci, M. Spinetti, M. Ventura, L. Votano. Streamer studies in Resistive Plate Chambers, arXiv:1806.03443 [physics.ins-det].

(2016) Agafonova A, Aleksandrov A, Votano L, et al. Determination of the muon charge sign with the dipolar spectrometers of the OPERA experiment. Journal of Instrumentation, 11, 07.

(2016) Berra A, Cecchini S, Cindolo F, Votano L, et al. Longitudinally segmented shashlik calorimeters with SiPM readout. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment. 

(2016) Abbrescia M, Avanzini C, Baldini L, Votano L, et al. A study of upward going particles with the Extreme Energy Events telescopes Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment, 816.

Lucia Votano has also published two scientific books for general public: Il fantasma dell’universo. Che cos’è il neutrino (Carocci, 2015) and La via della seta. La fisica da Enrico Fermi alla Cina (Di Renzo, 2017).

Awards and prizes

Lucia Votano was awarded the title of "Commendatore Ordine al Merito" by the Presidency of the Italian Republic in 2010.

She has also received numerous prizes and awards for scientific merit, including the "Guido Dorso" prize, the "Minerva, Roma Capitale delle Donne 2013" prize, the "L'Altra Italia" international prize, the "NordSud" international prize for exact and natural sciences, and the "Life Gates" prize.

Position/Role

Associate Professor of Methods and didactics of sporting activities at the University of Ferrara; vice-coordinator of the MSc in Sport Sciences at the University of Ferrara.

Professional career

Luciana Zaccagni graduated with honours in Natural Sciences in 1991 from the University of Bologna; she obtained her PhD in Anthropological Sciences in 1995 discussing a thesis entitled "Anthropometric characteristics and sports performance in high-level volleyball players" at the University of Bologna; in the academic year 1995-1997 she obtained a post-doctoral scholarship with a research project entitled "Determination of biological age in former athletes" at the University of Bologna. From 2001 to 2008 she was a tenured secondary school teacher. From 2008 to 2020 she was a Confirmed Researcher in SSD M-EDF/02 Methods and Didactics of Sporting Activities at the University of Ferrara and from 2020 to present Associate Professor in the same SSD.

Scientific results

Luciana Zaccagni's research activity focuses on the relationship between anthropometric characteristics and sports performance for aptitude selection and to provide indications for improving performance, and on the association between lifestyle (especially the practice of physical activity and/or sports), weight status, and body image perception to highlight strategies for the prevention of overweight and obesity in the population.

Editorial work and publications

[2001] Gualdi-Russo E, Zaccagni, L. Somatotype, role and performance in elite volleyball players. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 41(2):256–262.

[2012] Zaccagni L. Anthropometric characteristics and body composition of Italian national wrestlers. European Journal of Sport Science, 12(2):145–151.

[2012] Barbieri D, Zaccagni L, Cogo A, Gualdi-Russo E. Body composition and somatotype of experienced mountain climbers. High Altitude Medicine and Biology, 13(1):46–50.

[2016] Rinaldo N, Zaccagni L, Gualdi-Russo E. Soccer training programme improved the body composition of pre-adolescent boys and increased their satisfaction with their body image. Acta Paediatrica, International Journal of Paediatrics, 105(10):492–495.

[2017] Barbieri D, Zaccagni L, Babić V, ...Mišigoj-Duraković M, Gualdi-Russo E. Body composition and size in sprint athletes. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 7(9):1142–1146.

[2019] Zaccagni L, Lunghi B, Barbieri D, ...Bernardi F, Gualdi-Russo E. Performance prediction models based on anthropometric, genetic and psychological traits of Croatian sprinters. Biology of Sport, 36(1):17–23.

[2019] Zaccagni L, Rinaldo N, Gualdi-Russo E. Anthropometric indicators of body image dissatisfaction and perception inconsistency in young rhythmic gymnastics. Asian Journal of Sports Medicine, 10(4):e87871.

[2019] Gualdi-Russo E, Rinaldo N, Pasini A, Zaccagni L. Hand preference and performance in basketball tasks. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(22):4336.

[2020] Rinaldo N, Toselli S, Gualdi-Russo E, Zedda N, Zaccagni L. Effects of anthropometric growth and basketball experience on physical performance in pre-adolescent male players. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7):2196.

[2021] Rinaldo, N, Gualdi-Russo E, Zaccagni L. Influence of size and maturity on injury in young elite soccer players. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(6):3120.

[2021] Toselli S, Campa F, Latessa PM,...Grigoletto A, Zaccagni L. Differences in maturity and anthropometric and morphological characteristics among young male basketball and soccer players and non-players. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8):3902.

[2023] Zaccagni L, Gualdi-Russo E. The Impact of Sports Involvement on Body Image Perception and Ideals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(6): 5228.

Awards and prizes

In 2011, she won an award for Best Poster at the 19th Congress of the Italian Anthropological Association (AAI), with 'Anthropometric characteristics and body composition of the football player in relation to the game level', by L. Zaccagni, Turin, 21-24 September.

Position/Role

Head of Unified Team and trial lawyer at Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court seated in Th Hague, Netherlands.

Professional career

Alice Zago works in the field of human rights and international criminal law.Her work experience includes investigations and prosecutions in several countries in Africa, Central and Latin America, and Asia. After a master degree in International and European Human Rights Law, in 2000 she startes working as an international cooperation adviser with the NGO 'No Peace Without Justice', then joines the United Nations’ Mission in Guatemala to investigate and report on human rights violations and, after a spell as an international legal adviser to the Mission of Timor-Leste before the United Nations in New York, in late 2004 she becomes an investigator in the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court. Since then, she works in different capacities within the OTP ranging from investigation Team Leader to Trial Lawyer to Head of a Unified Team. She graduates from Harvard Law School in 2013 with a dissertation on Transnational Organized Crime. 

She often participates in academic activities, in particular of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, such as the annual Moot Court, a co-curricular activity in which participants take part in simulated court or arbitration proceedings. She is often called upon as a lecturer in professional training activities at institutes, universities and NGOs, and as a speaker at conferences in Italy and abroad.

Scientific results

The first and only female Italian international criminal law practitioner with direct experience investigating and prosecuting war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, Alice Zago specializes in laws regulating international and non-international armed conflicts, on large scale crimes especially gender-based and against children, deportation, enforced disappearances and persecution, as well as modern legal theories of attributing individual criminal liability. She is also experienced in procedural criminal law, having led teams to trial, pleaded extensively in court, examined (and cross-examined) witnesses and victims, as well as drafted complex legal documents. Moreover, she has gathered vast experience in a diverse range of investigative techniques, including interviewing techniques open-source investigations and big data applied to criminal investigations. She possesses extensive managerial experience, coordinating the work of multidisciplinary teams in diverse and multicultural environments. 

Editorial work and publications

Alice Zago has contributed to a wide range of publications such as “Advancing Justice for Children” (Save the Children 2021) and “Interrogations in war and conflict” (edited by Cristopher A. and Tobia S., 2014). 

Position/Role

Full Professor of Sociology of Economic Processes at the Catholic University of Milan; Director of the WWELL Research Center (Work, Welfare, Enterprise, Lifelong Learning).

Professional career

After graduating in Political Science at the Catholic University of Milan (best graduate of the year), Laura Zanfrini obtained (1995) a PhD in “Sociology and Methodology of social sciences”, with a thesis on local development in the French experience, evaluated with a judgment of “excellence”.

In 1998 she was hired as Assistant Professor in Sociology of economic processes. She entered the role of Associate Professor in 2005 and then, in 2010, she became Full Professor. She currently teaches “Sociology of Migration and Inter-ethnic Coexistence” and “Organizations, Environment and Social Innovation” at the School of Political and Social Sciences of the Catholic University. She is also coordinator of the Master degree in “Labour and business management” (a course that aims to prepare “enlightened” managers, who combine professional skills with a particular sensitivity to the social and ethical implications of economic action). She is also Director of the Summer School “Human Mobility and Global Justice”.

In addition to a rich scientific research activity (see next point), she has accumulated an extensive teaching experience, both in the academic context (as a professor of economic sociology, sociology of labour, sociology of migration, sociology of differences and inequalities), and in the extra-academic context (as an expert involved in initiatives promoted by public administrations, local authorities, school districts, trade unions, cultural associations, religious institutions, NGO).

Since its foundation in 1991, she has been involved in the activities of the ISMU Foundation as a member of the technical-scientific committee, Head of the Economics and Labour Department and Director of the Documentation Center.

Since its establishment (2010), she has been the Director of the WWELL Research Center (Work, Welfare, Enterprise, Lifelong Learning), at the Department of Sociology of the Catholic University, where a series of applied research, consultancy, and training initiatives are developed in continuity with a long tradition sensitive to the business ethic, sustainability, and inclusiveness.

In these contexts, she has participated and directed many national and international research projects, joined qualified networks of experts, and worked as advisor of many Italian and international organizations.

Scientific results

The scientific activity of Laura Zanfrini has developed around some main thematic areas and then concentrated, in recent years, mainly on the theme of international migration. Thanks to a particular predisposition for the systematization of literature (also according to an interdisciplinary approach) and for the analysis of empirical evidence, she authored many articles and books and collected a long list of participations in conferences and scientific seminars.

A first area of interest is the theme of development, captured in particular in its local declination, the subject of her doctoral thesis (published in the book Una promessa disattesa..., 1996) and of numerous other publications, among which the volume Lo sviluppo condiviso…(2001). In this same area, there are other works dedicated to entrepreneurship (artisans, women, immigrants ...) and the involvement in important projects on co-development, that is the enhancement of the link between international migration and development of the communities of origin (cf., in particular, the project Migrants’ Associations and Philippine Institutions for Development, funded by EU Aeneas program).

A second area is represented by the processes of labour market’s functioning and regulation, analyzed in their relationship with cultural patterns, development models, and social change’s dynamics. Based on several empirical researches, the analyzes dedicated to these issues have resulted in various publications characterized by a specific attention to the system of differences–of gender, ethnicity and age– caught in its intertwining with family patters, cultural contexts and the institutional and informal networks of protection from social risks (see, among others, Disoccupate per forza e per amore..., 2003; Una rivoluzione incompiuta..., 2005; Riconciliare lavoro e cittadinanza; Leggere la disoccupazione..., 2012, as well as contributions dedicated to the work of immigrants, regularly published on the yearly ISMU Report on migration). Among the results achieved, the co-optation in the Scientific Committee of the reviews “Sociologia del lavoro” and “Professionalità”.

A third area of interest is that of human resource management. Initially focused in the degree thesis, dedicated to the negotiation of working time, this issue was subsequently developed in the context of two important interdisciplinary projects on the business-history and, especially, through the co-editorship of some monographic issues of the journal “Sociologia del lavoro “.The interest in the issue of social differences has then developed into a specific focus on Diversity Management: as well as through the publication of various articles and essays, this issue has found expression in the scientific conception and direction of the DIVERSE international project. Diversity Improvement as a Viable Enrichment Resource for Society and Economy,and, more recently, of the project DimiCome - Diversity Management and Integration. The skills of migrants in the labour market, started in 2019. Going beyond the scope of organizational studies, the theme of social differences, caught in their interweaving with social inequalities, has been the subject of numerous works and, especially, of the handbook Sociologia delle differenze e delle disuguaglianze(2011).

The scientific activity of Laura Zanfrini is today mainly focused on international migration, the integration of migrants in the host society and the inter-ethnic relations. Started in the early 1990s, through the involvement in some “pioneering” researches, the study of these issues has been oriented along different lines: the systematization of international literature, the basis of many works and, in particular, of the 2 handbooks Sociologia delle migrazioniand Sociologia della convivenza interetnica (the first edition date back to 2004) and of the numerous “entries” that appeared in prestigious dictionaries and encyclopaedias; thegovernance of human mobility, analyzed by capturing the intertwining of the economic, political and ethical dimensions in multiple publications and, in particular, in the recent volume The Challenge of Migration in a Janus-Faced Europe(2019); the social and institutional construction of ethnic differencesand of the figure of the migrant, also addressed with specific regard to the issue of the ethnicization of employment relationships and also caught in its gender and generational declination; the feedback processes that migrations produce in the communities of originof migrants, with particular regard to the issue of development and of individual and family emancipation strategies, also in an intergenerational perspective; the citizenship and citizenship rights, presented as emblematic of the need to overcome the limits of methodological nationalism and rethink the theories of belonging and justice (see, among others, the volume Cittadinanze..., 2007); the ethical dimension of migration practices and policiesand the role of religion in migratory processes, through the scientific direction of a large multi-disciplinary study –Migrations and religious belongings.From the periphery to the core, for a new humanism–, funded with a special grant by the Catholic University, as a project of “high currently magnitude”.

The notoriety achieved as an expert on these topics is also attested by the frequent speeches at conferences and seminars in Italy and abroad; the participation in the scientific/editorial committee of the journals “Studi Emigrazione/International Journal of Migration Studies”, “Mondi Migranti”, “Revista Internacional de Estudios Migratorios”, “People on Move”, “Asian and Pacific Migration Journal”, “Rivista Internazionale di Scienze sociali” and of CIRMIB, “Centro di Iniziative e ricerche sulle Migrazioni – Brescia”; the involvement in the working group set up at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on irregular immigration policies; co-optation in the Independent Network of Labour Migration and Integration Experts; the appointment, in 2011, as Consultor of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants.

Editorial work and publications

She authored almost 400 publications, including books, essays and articles in Italian and foreign reviews.

The complete list can be consulted through the repertoire.

Among them we highlight:

University textbooks:

[2004 first edition] Zanfrini L, Sociologia delle migrazioni, Laterza. Più volte riedito, ultima versione del 2016: Introduzione alla sociologia delle migrazioni.

[2004 first edition] Zanfrini L, Sociologia della convivenza interetnica, Laterza, then acquired and translated by Alianza Editorial, La convivencia interétnica). 

Edited books:

[2011] Zanfrini L (ed.),Sociologia delle differenze e disuguaglianze, Zanichelli.

[2005] Zanfrini L (ed.),La rivoluzione incompiuta. Il lavoro delle donne tra retorica della femminilità e nuove disuguaglianze, Edizioni Lavoro.

Monographic books:

[2019] Zanfrini L, The Challenge of Migration in a Janus-Faced Europe, Palgrave Pivot.

[2007] Zanfrini L, Cittadinanze. Appartenenza e diritti nella società dell’immigrazione, Laterza.

International research projects’ volumes:

[2015] Zanfrini L, The Diversity Value. How to Reinvent the European Approach to Immigration, McGraw-Hill.

[2008] Zanfrini L, Policies on irregular migrants. Volume I: Italy and Germany, Council of Europe Publishing.

[2006] Zanfrini L,Orgoglio e pregiudizio. Una ricerca tra Filippine e Italia sulla transizione all’età attiva dei figli di emigrati e dei figli di immigrati, Angeli.

Selected articles:

[2017] Zanfrini L, Between Ambitions and Ambivalences: Cross-cultural Diversity Management and Immigrant Integration, in Business and Management Studies.

[2016] Zanfrini L, How Europe can Benefit from Immigration-Related “Diversity” – A Policy Paper, in Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy.

[2012] Zanfrini L, Family Migration: Fulfilling the Gap between Law and Social Processes, in Societies.

Awards and prizes

Premio “Agostino Gemelli” quale migliore laureata della Facoltà nell’anno 1989.

“Paul Harris Fellow”, rilasciato dalla Fondazione Rotary del Rotary International, “in segno di apprezzamento e riconoscenza per il suo tangibile e significativo apporto nel promuovere una migliore comprensione reciproca e amichevoli relazioni fra popoli di tutto il mondo”.

Position/Role

Biotechnology Group Leader, Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità (National Institute of Health), Rome, Italy

Professional career

After graduating in Biological Sciences from the University La Sapienza of Rome in 1994, he continued his academic training at the same university with a PhD in Immunological Sciences, which he obtained in 1998. In the meantime, he began his research activities at the Immunology Laboratory of the Institute of General Pathology of the Tor Vergata University of Rome and the Immunology Laboratory of the CNR in Rome. In 1997 she was appointed to a research post at the Department of Haematology, Oncology and Molecular Medicine of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, where in 2005 she became First Researcher. In 2009 she obtained a Master in Science Communication at the Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) in Trieste. From 2008 to 2017 she is Director of the Department of Hematological and Oncological Biotechnology, Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine. She has been coordinating for many years projects funded by AIRC (Italian Association for Cancer Research) and the Ministry of Health including the COLOMED project (COLOrectal cancer in MEDiterranean countries, www.colomed.it) for the creation of an inter-Mediterranean coordination against colon cancer. 

Scientific results

Ann Zeuner is a biomedical researcher specialising in cancer stem cell biology and the development of new cancer therapies. She has patented important new technologies applied to the treatment of cancer patients, including a method to alleviate chemotherapy toxicity and a new anti-cancer drug that is cheap, effective and has minimal side effects. She is constantly involved in science education for schools, and is the author of a textbook for high schools (Le cellule staminali, ed. Istituto Superiore di Sanità); she gives lectures and seminars in schools of all levels and training courses for teachers. He has collaborated with the Accademia dei Lincei in the programme "I Lincei per una nuova didattica nella scuola: una rete nazionale" (The Lincei for a new didactics in the school: a national network) and she leads within the ISS an operative unit for the training of students within the programme "Alternanza Scuola Lavoro" of the MIUR. Finally, it promotes important initiatives in favour of international cooperation among scientists as well as training and resource exchange activities in the Mediterranean area.

Editorial work and publications

Ann Zeuner sits on the editorial board of Frontiers in Molecular Targets and Therapeutics and of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità Newsletter. She has published numerous articles in international scientific journals, including the most authoritative ones in the scientific field such as Science, Nature, Stem Cell, Blood, Cancer Research. 

(2017) Colace L, Boccia S, De Maria R, Zeuner A. Colorectal cancer: towards new challenges and concepts of preventive healthcare. Ecancer medical science. 2017 Nov 28;11:ed74. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2017.ed74. eCollection 2017.

[2017]  Manic G, Signore M, Sistigu A, Russo G, Corradi F, Siteni S, Musella M, Vitale S, De Angelis ML, Pallocca M, Amoreo CA, Sperati F, Di Franco S, Barresi S, Policicchio E, De Luca G, De Nicola F, Mottolese M, Zeuner A, Fanciulli M, Stassi G, Maugeri-Saccà M, Baiocchi M, Tartaglia M, Vitale I, De Maria R. CHK1-targeted therapy to deplete DNA replication-stressed, p53-deficient, hyperdiploid colorectal cancer stem cells. Gut. 2017 Apr 7 (Epub ahead of print).

[2015] Francescangeli F, Contavalli P, Gambara G, De Angelis ML, Baiocchi M, Pagliuca A, Fiorenzano A, Prezioso C, Boe A, Todaro M, Stassi G, Castro NP, Watanabe K, Salomon DS, De Maria R, Minchiotti G, Zeuner A. Dynamic regulation of the cancer stem cell compartment by Cripto-1 in colorectal cancer. Cell Death & Differentiation, 22(10):1700-13.

[2014] Zeuner A, Todaro M, Stassi G, De Maria R. Colorectal Cancer Stem Cells: From the Crypt to the Clinic. Cell Stem Cell. 2014 Dec 4;15(6):692-705.

[2014] Zeuner A, Francescangeli F, Contavalli P, Zapparelli G, Apuzzo T, Eramo A, Baiocchi M, De Angelis ML, Biffoni M, Sette G, Todaro M, Stassi G, De Maria R. Elimination of quiescent/slow-proliferating cancer stem cells by Bcl-XL inhibition in non-small cell lung cancer. Cell Death & Differentiation, 105.

[2013] Todaro M, Turdo A, Bartucci M, Iovino F, Dattilo R, Biffoni M, Stassi G, Federici G, De Maria R, Zeuner A. Erythropoietin activates cell survival pathways in breast cancer stem-like cells to protect them from chemotherapy. Cancer Research, 73(21):6393-400.

[2012] Francescangeli F, Patrizii M, Signore M, Federici G, Di Franco S, Pagliuca A, Baiocchi M, Biffoni M, Vitiani LR, Todaro M, De Maria R, Zeuner A. Proliferation State and Polo-like Kinase1 Dependence of Tumorigenic Colon Cancer Cells. Stem Cells, 30(9):1819-30.

[2011] Bartucci M, Dattilo R, Martinetti D, Todaro M, Zapparelli G, Di Virgilio A, Biffoni M, De Maria R, Zeuner A. Prevention of chemotherapy-induced anemia and thrombocytopenia by constant administration of stem cell factor. Clinical Cancer Research, 17(19):6185-91.

[2009] Zeuner A, Pedini F, Francescangeli F, Signore M, Girelli G, Tafuri A, De Maria R. Activity of the BH3 mimetic ABT-737 on polycythemia vera erythroid precursorcells Blood, 113:1522-5.

[2007] Zeuner A, Signore M, Martinetti D, Bartucci M., Peschle C., De Maria R. Chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia derives from the selective death of megakaryocyte progenitors and can be rescued by Stem Cell Factor. Cancer Research, 67:4767-4773.

[1999] De Maria R, Zeuner A, Eramo A, Domenichelli C, Bonci D, Grignani F, Srinivasula SM, Alnemri ES, Testa U, Peschle C. Negative regulation of erythropoiesis by caspase-mediated cleavage of GATA-1. Nature, 401:489-493. 

Position/Role

Researcher at Villa Vigoni – German-Italian Centre for the European Dialogue-

Professional career

Francesca Zilio graduated in International and Diplomatic Relations at the University of Trieste. She then obtained a binational PhD in History of International Relations from Sapienza University of Rome and Freie Universität Berlin.

Before coming to Villa Vigoni she was postdoctoral DAAD Fellow at Freie Universität Berlin, research assistant at the University of Bern, visiting researcher at the Institute for European Global Studies of the University of Basel, and a research fellow at Istituto di Studi politici S. Pio V in Rome.

She is a research affiliate at Dodis (Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland). She founded a project on Italy’s Nation Branding (www.nationbranditalia.it).

In the field of Public History she is the author of a book that explains the history of divided Berlin (and Germany) through its buildings, the creator and author of an Instagram profile and a Facebook page about German Division and Reunification, and she creates historical itineraries in Germany for cultural tourism institutions. 

Scientific results

Her main areas of interest concern the history of Germany and Berlin during the Cold War, the foreign policy of Italy and Federal Germany after the Second World War, German-Italian political and cultural relations, the role of Christian Democratic parties in the process of European integration, and the institutional promotion of the national image of states (from cultural diplomacy to nation branding).

Editorial work and publications

Books 

[2020] Zilio F. Divisione e riunificazione: itinerari storici nella Berlino della Guerra fredda. Villa Vigoni Editore | Verlag 

[2020] Zilio F. “Unirsi e non restare spettatori immobili di ciò che accade nel mondo”: Mariano Rumor, l’integrazione europea e la distensione. Editrice Apes

[2014] Zilio F. Roma e Bonn fra Ostpolitik e CSCE, 1969-1975. Aracne 

[2007]Zilio F. Bonn e Bruxelles unite per la riunificazione? Le dimensioni bilaterale e comunitaria della cooperazione allo sviluppo tedesca per impedire il riconoscimento della DDR (1955-1972). ISIG

Papers 

[2015] Zilio F. The conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe and NATO Southern Flank: Mediterranean security as a source of intra-bloc tension, in Lemke B. (a cura di). Periphery or Contact Zone? The NATO-Flanks 1961 to 2013. Rombach: 69-85 

[2014] Zilio F. Aldo Moro e la CSCE: dalle parole ai fatti della politica distensiva italiana, in Moro R, Mezzana D (a cura di). Una vita, un paese: Aldo Moro e l’Italia del Novecento. Rubbettino: 643-661 

[2012] Le relazioni fra Roma e Bonn durante il primo Governo Brandt fra Ostpolitik e CSCE. Mondo contemporaneo, 2012 [2]: 5-34

Online: 

[2020] Zilio F. Un insegnamento per l’Europa nel trentennale della riunificazione tedesca: https://euractiv.it/section/europea-parlano-i-fatti/news/un-insegnamento-per-leuropa-nel-trentennale-della-riunificazione-tedesca/

Awards and prizes

Prize of the Italian Society of International History for the best doctoral dissertation of 2012.

Position/Role

Associate Professor with national qualification as Professor of Arabic Language and Literature at Ca' Foscari University of Venice

Professional career

After graduating in Oriental Languages ​​and Literatures (Arabic) at the Ca 'Foscari University of Venice, she obtained a Ph. doctorate in "Studies on the Middle East and Maghreb from the foundation of Islam to the present" at the University of Naples "L'Orientale".

Since 2002, she started several academic collaborations: she had been resident researcher at the University of Genoa until 2008, she lectured Arabic literature and culture at the University of Urbino and Islamic law, inter culturalism and social citizenship at Ca 'Foscari. In 2013 and 2014 he teaches Arab and Islamic culture at the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences (ISSR) Santa Maria di Monte Berico and teaches Arabic languages ​​and cultures also at the University of Padua and the Master of the Pontifical Antonianum University in Rome.

She is currently Associate Professor of Arabic Language and Literature at the Department of Studies on Asia and Mediterranean Africa (DSAAM) of the "Ca 'Foscari" University, where she teaches also Islamic thought and theology as well as Islamic philosophy.

She regularly holds seminars and courses at various universities and research institutes

Scientific results

Her scholarly activity has followed a number of distinct lines of research.

The main line has concerned the Koran as viewed, both lexically and with regard to differing interpretations of content, in the subsequent Arab Islamic literature. To this area belong especially her studies on evil (2002), on such individuals as Mary (1990 & 1997), Cain (1999), Pharaoh (2204), Jonah (2006), and on the question of religious freedom, how the female is perceived (2209), the Night Journey and the Prophet's Ascension (2010). These studies are based on the most representative, mainly Sunnite, works of exegesis in the Arabic language, from the beginning until the present day, noting the authors’ affiliations to the principal schools of thought. In the same direction and working from the same sources, the encyclopaedia entry al-Fātiḥa (2013). Still in the same area but for a more general readership, a complete and partially annotated translation of the Koran (2010), essays on the angels (2012) and on the concept of “the chosen people” (2015), editing the Italian editions of the Dictionary of the Koran (2007) and of J. Van Ess’s Flowering of Muslim Theology (2008), and an essay on kalām (2005).

In a different but rather similar vein are a series of recent studies on religious ethics, part of an ongoing research project, particularly and thus far, on the obligatory nature of employment (2012), on gratitude or šukr (2012), redirection or tawba (2013), judiciousness or ḥilm, peace or salām, and mercy (all 2015); silence and speech etiquette (2016); tenderness or rifq, welcoming and hospitality, moderation or wasaṭiyya, and beauty as an Islamic value (all 2017). In these cases the enquiry is based on the canonical texts and the principal exegesis, on the religious adab literature, focusing on the classical period (e.g. Ibn Abī al-Dunyā), but also following it through to the modern and contemporary periods. From the same sources also the encyclopedia entry Gratitude and Ingratitude (2014).

Another direction of study takes in elements of convergence and divergence between Islamic, Christian and Jewish religious thinking as reflected in Arabic mediaeval literature. To this area belong studies on Job for the Guida dei Perplessi (1997), on “the Golden Rule” (2004), on the correspondence between Ibn al-Munağğim e Qusṭā ibn Lūqā (2004), on the ethical theory of Yaḥyā ibn ‘Adī in the Tahdhīb al- akhlāq (2009 and currently printing, in PCAC, Rome), and a number of general academic works on, for example, Christian elements in the formation of Arabic philosophical thought (2005).

A more recent line of interest focuses on some symptomatic figures, especially women, in cultural relations between the Islamic world and the West. To this line belong the studies on Mayy Ziyāda

(1886-1941) and Maria Nallino (1908-1974), both forthcoming.

Another strand concerns adab literature on jewels and precious stones; in this context an essay on the writings of al-Tifāšī (1999), and a general academic work on that author (1999).

Finally, on cultural and social changes relating to the present-day Muslim population of Italy (2006, 2010, 2017).

Editorial work and publications

Besides the above-mentioned publications, below are some of her most recent works:

Book

[2019 forth.] Zilio Grandi I, L’affinamento dei caratteri di Yaḥyā ibn ‘Adī (363/974) , Bologna, PCAC, pp. 1-257.

Selected articles

[2018] Zilio Grandi I, La pazienza dell’Islam: la virtú detta ‘ṣabr’, in Studia Graeco-Arabica, vol. 8, pp. 105-118. 

[2018] Zilio Grandi I, Povertà e Islam, in Via Borgogna 3, vol. 9, pp. 105-117.

[2018] Zilio Grandi I, The virtue of Tolerance. Notes on the root s-m-h in the Islamic tradition, in Philosophy & Social Criticism, vol. Special Issue (Reset DOC Seminars), pp. 1-10.

[2018] Zilio Grandi I, Maria Nallino (1908-1974) and the Birth of Arabic and Islamic studies at Ca’ Foscari,150 Years of Oriental Studies at Ca' Foscari, Venezia, ECF, pp. 85-93.

[2018] Zilio Grandi I, Fuga ed esilio di Mayy Ziyāda (Nazareth 1886 – Il Cairo 1941), Donne in fuga./ Mujeres en fuga. / Femmes en fuite. Atti del Convegno Venezia, Ca’ Foscari 29-30 novembre 2017, Venezia, ECF, pp. 59-74.

[2017] Zilio Grandi I, Dalla tenda di Abramo alle dimore dei credenti. La sacralità dell’ospite nella tradizione islamica, in Politica e Religione, vol. 2016, pp. 131-142.

[2017] Zilio Grandi I, Islamica moralia: appunti sulla gentilezza o rifq (Islamica moralia: notes on kindness or rifq), in Studi Magrebini, vol. II, pp. 649-663.

[2017] Zilio Grandi I, Modestia, pudicizia e riserbo: la virtù islamica detta haya, inPhilologia Hispalensis, vol. 31, pp. 169-183.

[2017] Zilio Grandi I, Medietà e facilitazione. Note a margine di alcune fonti arabe islamiche contemporanee (Some comments on the Golden Mean and Enabling from selected Arabic and Islamic contemporary sources) in Annali di Ca Foscari Serie Orientale, vol. 53, pp. 5-24.

[2017] Zilio Grandi I, Campanini M, Islam religione d'Occidente, Sesto San Giovanni: Mimesis, 2016 (Passato Prossimo). 153 p. in Quaderni di Studi Arabi, vol. 11, pp. 258-259 (ISSN 1121-2306) (Recensione in rivista).

[2017] Zilio Grandi I, Le virtù del musulmano, in L'Islam non è terrorismo, Bologna, Il Mulino, pp. 137-152 (Articolo su libro).

The full list can be consulted at the repertoire webpage.

Position/Role

Researcher at Institute of BioPhysics of the Italian National Council of Research, Milan

Professional career

Graduated in Biology, in 1987 in Milan, she moved for a series of post-docs in various laboratories in Italy (ITBA-CNR in Milano, ICGEB in Trieste) and abroad (UK, Biochemistry Department at the University of Birmingham, and USA, at the Salk Institute, in the laboratory of Inder Verma).

With 15 years of experience in several laboratories, in 2001 she obtained a position as a researcher at the Institute of Clinical Physiology (IFC) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) of Pisa. Here after a short period, following a serious accident of which she is not responsible, she was forced to leave the laboratory.

She then embarked on a new phase of her scientific career, dedicated to Biological Representation, with the idea of virtually recreating the cellular world using the techniques developed in the field of Computer Graphics (film, video and video games). Today the discipline is recognized as 'Molecular Graphics'. In 2006 she founded the Scientific Visualization Unit at IFC, and, with the first funding for the project, she obtained the scientific results listed below (scientific publications and videos). In 2019 she moved to the Institute of BioPhysics of the CNR in Milan. In this period, she also developed a collaboration with groups of Cuban computer scientists, bioinformaticians and biologists, with whom she has active and funded projects, always related to the visualization, in this case of the Dengue virus.

Today Monica Zoppé is considered a pioneer of the 'Art and Science of Scientific Visualization', and is recognized as one of the major theorists in the field, often invited to international conferences and meetings.

In parallel, she also actively participated in the Donne e Scienza (Women and Science) association, where she has been member of the board for several years. It is in the context of this activity that she promoted and contributed to the organization of the European Congress #WeTooInScience, held in Pisa in 2018.

During and after the Covid period (2020-2022) she dedicated her interests also to the problems related to dangerous research, as is typically performed in laboratories of High Safety and Security (so-called BSL-3 and BSL-4). and wrote a review article in which she explores the opportunities and problems associated with Gain of Function experiments and with the lack of transparency of some research projects.

Scientific results

The results obtained in the experimental biology field are documented in the publications available online on the ORCID website.

For the works in the 'Molecular Graphics' field, the main result is the transposition into a graphic system, therefore visible, of the molecular world which is a very rich world, indeed in cells operate specific and different forces: for example, gravity does not count while thermal vibration counts, and many of the forces at play can be calculated as potentials (electrical, lipophilic, osmotic and thermodynamic flows), for which we have no visual perception. 

In detail, the main results obtained in this area can be summarized as follows:· 

·       Development of the theoretical and operative bases of the new discipline, scientific visualization, dedicated to the narrative of the cellular and molecular biology.

·       Foundation of the interdisciplinary working group Scientific Visualization: www.scivis.it.

·       Development and release of multiple versions of BioBlender, a tool that allows one to introduce rigorous scientific data in Blender, one of the most advanced Computer Graphics tools, and the only completely Open Source, developed for cinema and video games.

·       Production of a series of short cellular animations, all freely available on the website www.scivis.it  and on the major channels, which have obtained important awards both in the scientific, cinematographic and technical fields (see list).

·       Introduction to the concept of a visual code with which to represent invisible, not unknown, elements.

·       Method for the preparation of tangible models of proteins, made with soft rubber, used both in research and in education.

Editorial work and publications

[2022] Zoppè, M. Colors in the representation of biological structures. Journal of Integrative Bioinformatics (JIB) 19(2):20220021.

[2022] Zoppè, M. (2022) High Level Biocontainment Laboratories: Risks and Necessity for Society. F1000-Research Preprint F100.DOI:10.12688/f1000research.111073.1

[2021] Alderighi, T., Giorgi, D., Malomo, L., Cignoni, P. and Zoppè, M. Computational design, fabrication and evaluation of rubber protein models. Computers & Graphics 98:177.

[2019] Zoppè, Monica G. Improving Gender Diversity in Science. In #WeTooInScience - Sexual Harassment in Higher Education Institutions and Research Organizations, CNR-IRPPS e-Publishing 235–41. Rome, Italy.

[2019] Zoppè, M., Loni,T., Carlone,I., Cianchetta,S.. Making of The Dark Anim: Technical and Scientific Notes. In 2019 International Conference on Cyberworlds (CW), 45–52. Kyoto, Japan: IEEE, 2019.

[2018] Caudai, C., Salerno, E., Zoppè, M. and Tonazzini, A.  ChromStruct 4: A Python Code to Estimate the Chromatin Structure from Hi-C Data. IEEE/ACM Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics. 

[2017] Zoppè, M  Towards a perceptive understanding of cellular biology.  Nat Meth 14(7): 662-665.

[2015] Zoppè, M  La sindrome dell’impostore: Non sono davvero brava come sembra. In: Scienza, genere e società. Prospettive di genere in una società che si evolve. S. Avveduto, M. L. Paciello, T. Arrigoni, C. Mangia, L. Martinelli (eds.). Roma: CNR-IRPPS e-Publishing. 

[2015] Zoppè, M. and Loni, T. The Representation of Electrostatics for Biological Molecules. In: W. Rocchia and M. Spagnuolo (eds.), Computational Electrostatics for Biological Applications, Springer International, Switzerland. 215-225.

[2014] Zoppè, M. Comunicare l’invisibile. La rappresentazione visiva di concetti biofisici / Communicating the Invisible. The Visual Representation of Biophysical Concepts. In: Scrittura e immagini nel dominio della scienza / Text and Image in the sicentific realm. A cura di/Edited by: R. Falcinelli, A. Filippini, G. Liberti, L. Perondi e L. Romei. Progetto Grafico, 25:50. 

[2012] Andrei, R., Callieri, M., Zini, M.F., Loni, T., Maraziti, G. and Zoppè, M. Intuitive representation of surface properties of proteins using BioBlender. BMC Bioinformatics, 13(Suppl 4):S16.

[2011] Zoppè, M. Vedere l'invisibile. Le Scienze – Italian version of Scientific American. Roma, 515: p. 64-9. 

Selezione di VIDEO

[2015] The Dark Anim, (5', 23''). A description of the serotoninergic synapse, and its activity in the healthy and depressed states. With subtitles in English, French and Italian. 

[2012] TSH receptor on Red Blood cells, 2011 (3', 48''). Thyrotropin is a hormone that elicits a response from the thyroid gland. However, its receptor is also found on the surface of red blood cells. After binding, the dimeric receptor splits into two subunits, each of which leaves the lipid raft to associate with other proteins of the cellular surface. 

[2010] PROTEIN EXPRESSIONS - Study N.3 (5', 01''). The video, also produced in 3D, is the final one in a series of tests in the development of BioBlender. It shows several moments of cellular life, from the surface to the cytoplasm and back to cell periphery and out. Watched >70.000 times (Vimeo statistics).

Awards and prizes

The video PROTEIN EXPRESSIONS- Study n.3  has been awarded in several occasions:

[2009] Suzanne Award of the  Blender Foundation, Amsterdam 2009.

[2010] Prize of the Jury, at Melzo Film Festival, Milan. Italy. 2010.

[2011] Selected as finalist at DogVille-Viladecan Film Festival, Barcelona, Spain. 2011

[2012], First prize.  NANOPLANET was awarded the First Prize in the  ‘Art&Science contest’ at BioPhysical Society meeting, San Francisco (CA. USA).

[2013]  The video The Challenge of HIV Research, reached the Fourth classification in the 'AutoPACK visualization contest’ by the Computer Graphics Society – Autodesk.

[2018] Invitation to the restricted Shonan Meeting on ‘Web Molecular Graphics: Emerging.Technologies & Standards’, Japan. 

Position/Role

Research Scientist at the Centre for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Rome 

Professional career

After graduating in Ecological Biology from the University of Parma in 2005, she continued her studies and in 2008 obtained a Master's degree in Ecology with a focus on Animal Behaviour at the same university. In 2013 she obtained a PhD in Ethology, Animal Ecology and Anthropology at the University of Florence. In 2014 she has a 14-month project research contract at the Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù (RM), research area "Multifactorial diseases and complex phenotypes", the following year she wins a Noopolis Foundation scholarship to work at the Department of Behavioural Neuroscience of the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, the same Department hosts her also the following year. In 2016 she won the "L'Oréal-UNESCO Prize for Women and Science", thanks to which she carried out research at the Institute of Cognitive Science and Technology of the CNR. Today she is a Researcher at the Reference Centre for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS).

Scientific results

Francesca Zoratto's research interests range from ethology, the study of animal behaviour, to understanding human behaviour. Her latest research project at the Cognitive Primatology Unit of the Institute of Cognitive Science and Technology (ISTC) of the CNR tests the social modulation of risk-taking in two different animal species, monkeys and rats. The main aim of this and other studies is to apply the findings in the field of ethology to human behaviour, specifically to the world of pathological gambling. Risk-taking is not unique to humans, and studying animal behaviour under the same conditions can help to better understand the psycho-biological mechanisms that underlie our addictions. Increasing knowledge in the field of human behaviour is intended to provide more insight to the medical community, but also to develop proposals for policy makers to devise more effective strategies in the prevention and treatment of pathological gambling.

Editorial work and publications

Francesca Zoratto has authored numerous papers in international peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Here below, a selection:

(2018)  Zoratto F., Sbriccoli M., Martinelli A., Glennon J.C., Macrì S., Laviola G. Intranasal oxytocin administration promotes emotional contagion and reduces aggression in a mouse model of callousness. Neuropharmacology, 143:250-267

(2018) Zoratto F., Oddi G., Gori E., Micucci A., De Petrillo F., Paglieri F., Adriani W., Laviola G, Addessi E. 2018. Social modulation of risky decision-making in rats (Rattus norvegicus) and tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.). Behavioural Brain Research, 347:37-48.

(2018) Zoratto F., Cordeschi G., Grignani G., Bonanni R., Alleva E., Nascetti G., Mather J.A., Carere C. 2018. Variability in the “stereotyped” prey capture sequence of male cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) could relate to personality differences. Animal Cognition, 21(6):773-785.

(2017) Zoratto F., Romano E., Pascale E., Pucci M., Falconi A., Dell’Osso B., Maccarrone M., Laviola G., D’Addario C., Adriani W. 2017. Down-regulation of serotonin and dopamine transporter genes in individual rats expressing a gambling-prone profile: a possible role for epigenetic mechanisms. Neuroscience, 340:101-116.

(2015) Canese R., Zoratto F., Altabella L., Porcari P., Mercurio L., De Pasquale F., Butti E., Martino G., Lacivita E., Leopoldo M., Laviola G., Adriani W. 2015. Persistent modification of forebrain networks and metabolism in rats following adolescent exposure to a 5-HT7 receptor agonist. Psychopharmacology, 232(1):75-89.

(2013) Zoratto F., Laviola G., Adriani W. 2013. Gambling proneness in rats during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood: a home-cage method. Neuropharmacology, 67:444-454.

(2012) Koot S., Zoratto F., Cassano T., Colangeli R., Laviola G., van den Bos R., Adriani W. 2012. Compromised decision-making and increased gambling proneness following dietary serotonin depletion in rats. Neuropharmacology, 62(4):1640-1650. 

(2010) Zoratto F., Carere C., Chiarotti F., Santucci D., Alleva E. 2010. Aerial hunting behaviour and predation success by peregrine falcons Falco peregrinus on starling flocks Sturnus vulgaris. Journal of Avian Biology, 41(4):427-433.

Awards and prizes

Francesca Zoratto has received numerous awards and recognitions for her academic career. In 2016 she received a L’ORÉAL-UNESCO For Women in Science 2016 Award from the “Fondation L’ORÉAL” in collaboration with L’ORÉAL Italia and the Italian National Commission for UNESCO.