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The Italian Embassy in Washington hosts the 2018 ISSNAF Annual Conference.

Washington DC, 23 ottobre 2018 – The Annual ISSNAF Conference – Italian Scientists and Scholars of the North America Foundation – just came to an end. As per custom, it took place at the Embassy of Italy in Washington DC.

The ISSNAF Foundation, created in 2008 at the behest of 36 scientists and academics including 4 Nobel Prize Winners, turned 10 this year. Since its very first edition, the ISSNAF conference has facilitated the promotion and dissemination, to the American public, of activities undertaken by the many Italian scientists and researchers in North America. Over 4000 people come under its umbrella – from Los Angeles to Miami, from Boston to San Francisco, where ISSNAF has just opened a new chapter – and contribute daily to promote the image of Italy, a country steeped in tradition and knowledge, projected to the future and always at the fore in all fields of science and research.

The theme of the Conference was: ” Longevity: the Impact of Research, Economics, AI and Robotics to live Longer, Better Lives”. The discussion followed two different lines. The first focused on the consequences of an increased life expectancy on society and the economy, while the second viewed the topic from a scientific standpoint, highlighting the impact of new technologies on longevity and the constant challenges to improve the quality of life.

These timely issues are of key importance at the national and international level, and are “topics in which – Ambassador Varricchio noted – Italy and its scientists at home and abroad have an extraordinary experience. This, in turn, can help to cross boundaries in the ageing sciences”.

The conference ended with the awarding of some projects by young Italian researchers who work in the US and Canada. The five award winners are: Lorenzo Brunetti for the Paola Campese Award for research on leukemia; Roberta Zappasodi for the IBM-Bio4Dreams Award for research in medicine, biosciences and cognitive sciences; Riccardo Manenti for the Anna Maria Molteni Award for Mathematics and Physics; Antonio D’Amore for the Franco Strazzabosco Engineering Award; Sara Buson for the ISSNAF Award for young investigators – environmental sciences, astrophysics and chemistry. The Life Achievement Award 2018 went, on October 22, to neuro-scientist Emilio Bizzi, a researcher and lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

“The five young researchers recognized by ISSNAF in 2018 are a source of pride for our country. Professionalism, reliability and dedication are the hallmarks of young Italian researchers and scientists in North America. In the field of research on leukemia, cognitive biosciences, mathematics, environmental sciences and neuroscience, Italy and Italians are synonymous with excellence” was the comment of the Italian Ambassador to the US, Armando Varricchio.