Eighteen Years of Passion, Commitment, and Research at the FIF
Eighteen years of research, innovation, and scientific collaboration, with an increasingly international outlook. Fondazione Italiana Fegato ETS celebrated its 18th anniversary with an event that went beyond mere celebration—serving primarily as an opportunity to trace its journey and take stock of the new frontiers in liver disease research. Throughout this journey, the FIF has progressively consolidated its role within the scientific community, building partnerships in Italy and worldwide, and developing an approach capable of linking research, innovation, prevention, and treatment.
Highlighting the global scale of the Foundation’s network, video greetings were screened from researchers and representatives of scientific institutions across various countries: from the Philippines to Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, and Indonesia. Among them were Loraine Kay Cabral, Secretary of the ASEAN Liver Initiative and former FIF fellow; Graciela Mazzone of Universidad Austral in Buenos Aires; Norberto Chavez Tapia, Director of the Gastroenterology Department at Medica Sur in Mexico and former FIF fellow; Fatima Theresinha Costa Rodrigues Guma of UFRGS – Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Eddy Giri-Rachman Putra from BRIN, the National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia; and Renato Solidum, Secretary of the DOST – Department of Science and Technology of the Philippines.
“Fondazione Italiana Fegato in the Global Scientific Landscape: From the Bench to Bedside, Bridging Innovation, Prevention, and the Future” was the theme of the institutional panel—a discussion exploring the ongoing transformations in biomedical research and the opportunities unlocked by cross-disciplinary synergy, emerging technologies, and international expertise.
Panel participants included Claudio Tiribelli, President of the “Fondazione Italiana Fegato ETS”; Guido Sanguinetti, Full Professor and Group Leader of the Machine Learning and Systems Biology Group at SISSA; Gianluca Tell, Head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Udine; and Umberto Baccarani, Professor of Surgery at the University of Udine and transplant surgeon on the liver and kidney team at the Friuli Centrale University Health Authority (ASUFC).
The discussion highlighted one of the critical challenges in contemporary research: translating benchside discoveries into tangible tools to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of liver diseases. In this transition, cross-pollination among scientific research, clinical medicine, technology, and knowledge transfer plays an increasingly vital role. Eighteen years after its inception, FIF reaffirms its vocation: serving as a bridge between knowledge and health, laboratory discovery and clinical care—a rich legacy of expertise and partnerships primed to tackle the future of liver research.