Congratulations to Antonella Capuozzo and Laura Cinque!

Ilaria, known as Iaia, had 4 years old when she was diagnosed with a rare tumor. Despite the Italian doctors did not give the baby any chance, Ilaria and her family did not give up and seek new experimental treatments on the other side of the world. However, the cures were very expensive. This is how the Il Sogno di Iaia ONLUS was born, with the aim to allow Ilaria to chase her dream of living. Iaia gained 4 more years of a life full of dreams and love, with that disenchantment that only childhood can give.

Iaia passed away on June 3, 2018 but her dream is not over. In her memory, the association continues to work so that other children can make their dreams come true.

This year, the association decided to sustain innovative research with “A dream for research” Scholarship and we are glad to announce that two TIGEM Researchers were awarded.

Born in Napoli in 1987, Antonella gained her Bachelor Degree in Pharmacy in 2012 with full marks and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Science in 2016. She is now working at Telethon institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) in Prof.Diego Medina’s group and her studies are focused on Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA (MPS-IIIA), an autosomal recessive disorders characterized by progressive developmental delay and cognitive decline, for which there is currently no treatment. This year Antonella published as first author an outstanding paper on the identification of a molecule that has a high potential as therapeutics to cure Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA (MPS-IIIA).

Born in Napoli in 1988, Laura gained her Bachelor Degree in Biology in 2012 and her Doctoral Degree in Medical Genetics in 2015. She is currently a Student at the Medical genetics Vanvitelli Graduate School. She is now a PostDoctoral researcher at Telethon institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) in Prof. Carmine Settembre’s group and she is first author of groundbreaking publications on the most important international scientific Journal for her studies on the role of autophagy in physiological and pathological mechanisms.