After a year of sowing the seeds of this fund, the fruits of our labour are beging to be harvested. During the summer of 2017, Drs. Alessandro Varrica and Laura D. Serpero have achieved their PhD in Neonatalogy from Maastricht University after discussing their individual theses on perinatal medicine. Both of their theses examined the S100B Protein as marker to recognize brain damage during the perinatal period and in relation to cardiac surgery.

The Italian researchers, who were able to fund their studies through Gruppo L’Insieme, have published their findings – S100B Protein and Congenital Heart Disease: Brain Aspects and Next Generation Biomarkers in Perinatal Medicine: S100B Protein – significantly contributing to the cannon of scientific literature currently available in this highly specialized field.

Dutiful thanks go to Dr. Diego Gazzolo, director of the Department of Neonatology of the "Cesare Arrigo" Hospital in Alessandria, which follows and coordinates the course of study of Italian PhD students in Neonatology. And, to the association Onlus I colori della vita, as it is through their work it is possible to raise the necessary funds to finance this research.   

Alessandro Varrica 

Graduated in Medicine from the University of Palermo, specialized in Cardiac Surgery. He currently works as a researcher for cardiac surgery at the IRCCS Policlinico San Donato. 

Laura D. Serpero 

Graduated in Biology from the University of Eastern Piedmont, she then obtained a doctorate in clinical and experimental immunology at the University of Genoa. Currently Laura is a researcher at the SS Antonio e Biagio and Cesare Arrigo of Alessandria Hospital.