Between March 14^th and 16^th, basic and clinical researchers working at Ospedale San Raffaele gathered together in the annual OSR Scientific Retreat with the aim of sharing their projects, results and fostering new collaborations. The event was hosted in the beautiful small town of Baveno, on the Como Lake, and saw 472 participants, of which roughly one third were 30 years old or younger. This year even more scientists and physicians from the other two research hospitals of Gruppo Ospedaliero San Donato – Policlinico San Donato e Istituto Galeazzi – joined the retreat, making it even more rich and multidisciplinary.

The topics discussed during the conference sessions ranged from cardiovascular disease to gene editing, from neuroscience to host-virus interactions and virology. In line with the translational mission of Ospedale San Raffaele, the research projects presented spread from clinical trials testing new therapeutic protocols and surgical techniques, to basic cell biology investigations. The recent advances in using robotics – both in clinical activity and in research – were also addressed.

Among the special guests: the keynote speaker, professor Anu Suomalainen, Academy Professor at the University of Helsinki and Chief Physician in charge of mitochondrial disease diagnosis at the Helsinki University Hospital; and the physicists Antonio Zoccoli, Viviana Fafone and Massimo Pietroni – respectively from the university of Bologna, Roma Tor Vergata and Parma – who discussed the origin of the cosmos with actor and author Neri Marcoré during an interactive show held for the usual Science&Society night.

«The OSR Scientific Retreat is a key moment for our institute: researchers gather together to discuss, share information, start new projects and feel part of a broader community», says Carla Taveggia, who coordinated the scientific committee in charge of the event. «Research is meant to be a collective endeavor, today more than ever: the more we know about what our colleagues are doing and can do, the stronger will be our research».

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awards

 

best papers

Best Basic Paper: Emilie Venereau, Chromatin dynamics Unit

Tirone M, Tran NL, Ceriotti C, Gorzanelli A, Canepari M, Bottinelli R, Raucci A, Di Maggio S, Santiago C, Mellado M, Saclier M, François S, Careccia G, He M, De Marchis F, Conti V, Ben Larbi S, Cuvellier S, Casalgrandi M, Preti A, Chazaud B, Al-Abed Y, Messina G, Sitia G, Brunelli S, Bianchi ME, Vénéreau E, High mobility group box 1 orchestrates tissue regeneration via CXCR4”, Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2018, 215(1): 303-318

Best Translational Paper: Matteo Bellone, Cellular immunology Unit

Calcinotto A, Brevi A, Chesi M, Ferrarese R, Garcia Perez L, Grioni M, Kumar S, Garbitt VM, Sharik ME, Henderson KJ, Tonon G, Tomura M, Miwa Y, Esplugues E, Flavell RA, Huber S, Canducci F, Rajkumar VS, Bergsagel PL, Bellone M, Microbiota-driven interleukin-17-producing cells and eosinophils synergize to accelerate multiple myeloma progression, Nature Communication, 2018, 9:4832

Best Clinical Paper: Vanesa Gregorc, Division of Experimental Oncology

Gregorc V, Gaafar RM, Favaretto A, Grossi F, Jassem J, Polychronis A, Bidoli P, Tiseo M, Shah R, Taylor P, Novello S, Muzio A, Bearz A, Greillier L, Fontana F, Salini G, Lambiase A, O'Brien M, NGR-hTNF in combination with best investigator choice in previously treated malignant pleural mesothelioma (NGR015): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial, Lancet Oncology, 2018, 19(6): 799-811

 

best posters and oral presentation

Best Oral Presentation
Isabel Pagani, Viral pathogens and biosafety Unit, Repurposing heparin and its derivatives to preventing ZIKA virus-induced cell death in human three-dimensional (3D) neurospheres (NS) derived from pluripotent stem sells

Best Poster Award – Junior
Elena Riva, Immunogenetics, Leukemia Genomics and Immunobiology Unit, High-Throughput In Vivo Screening Strategies for the Identification of Novel Players Involved in Leukemia Immune Recognition

Best Poster Award – Intermediate
Filippo Birocchi, Targeted Cancer Gene Therapy Unit, Development of a chimeric form of IFNa for “on demand” in vivo cancer gene therapy

Best Poster Award – Advanced
Alessia Pagani, Regulation of iron metabolism Unit, Investigating the molecular mechanisms of TFR2 as EPOR partner and hepcidin activator