P3 Laboratory for Coronaviruses and Other Viral Infections with High Mortality in Humans
THE PROJECT
The P3 Biosafety Laboratory at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan is a high-security facility dedicated to the study of highly dangerous viruses and the development of new therapeutic strategies. Established also thanks to the support of Fondazione Prossimo Mio, the laboratory enables researchers to study viral infections and the mechanisms through which viruses interact with the human body under controlled conditions, contributing to the development of new antiviral therapies.
Over the years, the laboratory’s research has expanded across several areas, involving virologists, immunologists, bioinformaticians, chemists and other young researchers. Fondazione Prossimo Mio continues to support this work by funding scholarships dedicated to training and research.
Valeria Fumagalli: from a scholarship to a career in research
Among the first researchers supported by the Foundation is Valeria Fumagalli, who received a scholarship at the beginning of her career to study the effectiveness of new classes of antiviral drugs and vaccines.
At the time, the research group had developed an innovative experimental model to study the clinical manifestations of COVID-19. As Professor Luca Guidotti explained: “Studying SARS-CoV-2 and its interaction with the immune system in the laboratory can help prepare us for possible future spillover events involving new coronaviruses belonging to the same family, as has already occurred with the MERS and SARS viruses.”
Since then, Valeria’s professional career has continued to develop and consolidate. She is now a Researcher in General Pathology at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University. She has contributed to the development of new models for studying SARS-CoV-2, which can be used to test vaccines and antiviral drugs, has published numerous studies as first author in leading scientific journals, and has been awarded the prestigious ERC Synergy Grant.
A mathematician in the P3 Biosafety Laboratory
Fondazione Prossimo Mio subsequently supported Chiara Laura through a scholarship. A bioinformatician with a background in mathematics, Chiara carried out her postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Professors Luca Guidotti and Matteo Iannacone at San Raffaele Hospital.
Her work focuses on bioinformatics, a field that has become increasingly important in interpreting the enormous amount of data generated by modern biomedical technologies. As Professor Guidotti explained: “Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that integrates biology, computer science, mathematics and statistics. In recent years, we have witnessed the rapid development of biomedical technologies, accompanied by an exponential growth in the amount of data generated. Modern DNA, RNA and protein sequencing techniques produce hundreds of thousands of different pieces of information for each individual cell in an organ or tissue; considering that the human body is made up of more than 30 trillion cells, the volume of data is immense, with billions of data points generated every day.”
During her time at San Raffaele, Chiara used mathematical models to understand how the expression and regulation of thousands of genes and immune system proteins influence the mechanisms underlying viral infections. Her work also contributed to the identification of new potential therapeutic targets.
After completing her postdoctoral research at San Raffaele and contributing to studies published in scientific journals, Chiara began a new professional experience at Humanitas as a senior postdoctoral researcher.
A new young researcher: Marco Manenti
The experiences of Valeria Fumagalli and Chiara Laura clearly demonstrate the meaning of the fellowships supported by Fondazione Prossimo Mio: an investment in research, but above all in people and in their scientific and professional growth.
Today, this commitment continues with Marco Manenti, who holds a degree in Chemistry from the University of Milan, a PhD in Industrial Chemistry, and is a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Luca Guidotti’s laboratory.
His research focuses on the development of new antiviral molecules for the treatment of chronic infections caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis D virus (HDV). Using medicinal chemistry techniques, Marco designs and synthesizes new molecules capable of interfering with the viruses’ life cycle, progressively studying their efficacy, selectivity and safety.
The aim is to contribute to the development of new therapies for hepatitis B, an infection that affects more than 250 million people worldwide and which, in most cases, still requires long-term treatment. In particular, his research also focuses on the development of long-acting drugs, which could reduce the frequency of administration and improve the long-term management of treatment.
Through his work, chemistry thus becomes a tool for transforming knowledge gained through biological research into new possibilities for treatment.
Following Valeria and Chiara, Fondazione Prossimo Mio is once again choosing to invest in the future of a young researcher. The hope is that the support offered to Marco today will represent an important step in his scientific and professional development, just as the fellowships funded in the past supported Valeria and Chiara throughout their research careers.
