Being there is a success: yesterday the 16 under 40 most outstanding Italian scientists operating in the US and Canada were invited at the ISSNAF Awards ceremony in Washington D.C..
The event was organized by the ISSNAF Foundation, a no-profit organization founded to promote scientific interaction between Italy and Italian researchers who work overseas, and which includes over 4,000 Italian researchers and professors in North America.
The finalists presented their research projects in five fields: leukemia; astrophysical, chemistry and environmental science; medicine, biosciences and cognitive science; engineering; mathematics and physics.
Thanks to his innovative prosthetic solution for the replacement of cardiac valves, our researcher Antonio D’Amore qualified as one of the three finalists of the Franco Strazzabosco Award for Engineering. Applicants were assessed on the basis of their scientific publications, intellectual property and patents and academic career.
Research work carried out by Dr. D’Amore focuses on the development of new tissue engineering and biomaterial models for the cardiovascular tissue regeneration.
“The main objective,” D’Amore explained, “is to develop a prosthesis technology for heart valves replacement which can avoid the need for the anticoagulation treatments required by mechanical valves, still providing a longer durability than a bioprosthetic counterparts. We are testing the use of reabsorbable scaffolds seeded with patient cells; then the support progressively degrades as it is replaced by the native tissue grown by the patient. This type of valve would allow children suffering from heart disease to avoid multiple implants otherwise needed to readapt the prosthesis size to the growing anatomy.”
The IP of this innovative solution has already been protected in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh, and the study has abtracted funding from industrial partners including Livanova and Carnegie Mellon University. A start-up with the Innovation Institute of Pittsburgh and UPMC is now being set up.
Dr. Padova, CEO of Ri.MED Foundation, is extremely proud of this achievement: “The selection of the best researchers, their training and professional growth is one of the missions of Ri.MED: we are really pleased that Antonio’s skills have been deservedly acknowledged. His career progress confirms that the formative strategy at Ri.MED is effective and successful: the synergy between our American partner, offering high-level training, and the clinical partners at ISMETT IRCCS, can effectively facilitate the translation of our scientific discoveries to the patient”.