Big data, AI e medicina di precisione: a che punto siamo?

Guarda la registrazione dell'incontro con Enzo Grossi, Fulvio Ferrara e Caterina La Porta che si è tenuto in STEP FuturAbility District nell'ambito del programma scientifico culturale.

“This evening, I will launch a new initiative on precision medicine to bring us closer to curing diseases such as cancer and diabetes and to give us all access to the personalized information we need to keep ourselves and our families healthier.”

10 years have passed since Barak Obama expressed himself this way in a television commercial for the launch of the great US project on precision medicine, that is, personalized and targeted medicine, which takes into account individual differences in terms of genetics, microbiome, lifestyle, environment, and many other Big Data clusters. New technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, the analysis and enhancement of big data, have great transformative potential for many economic-industrial sectors. The health sector, which is already feeling its effects, is among those that will be most impacted in the near future. The explosion of artificial intelligence in recent years makes the question of what and where the falling point of this fascinating project is and what are the related issues that are still open.

Workshop in collaboration with STEP's Bracco Scientific Partner

Enzo Grossi, Surgeon, specialist in gastroenterology. He has been medical director in various pharmaceutical companies including Bracco S.p.A. (1994-2011).

Since 2012 he has been scientific advisor to the Bracco Foundation (Milan) and Scientific Director of the Villa Santa Maria Foundation and of the homonymous Child Neuropsychiatry center in Tavernerio where he deals with AI applied to autism.

For 25 years he has been active in the field of artificial intelligence and big data applied to medical problems as a researcher at the Semeion Research Center in Rome and as an adjunct professor at the University of Turin and Milan for Artificial Intelligence in medicine.

Author of 230 articles indexed on PubMed; his H index is 68

Fulvio Ferrara is a doctor specialized in Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with extensive experience in laboratory diagnostics and scientific research. He is currently Director of the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Pathology, Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics at the Italian Diagnostic Center in Milan, where he coordinates advanced diagnostic activities and innovative projects in the field of personalized medicine.

Previously, he held leadership roles at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan for more than twenty years, both as head of the laboratory's Clinical and Business Units, and as Medical Coordinator of the Clinical Trial Center, strengthening his management and commercial skills. At the same time, he carried out academic activities as Professor of Pathology at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University.

His research activity focuses on regenerative biomarkers, mass spectrometry, molecular diagnostics and oncology, with particular attention to liquid biopsy and flow cytometry. He has contributed more than 90 scientific publications and has participated as a speaker at national and international conferences.

An expert in advanced laboratory technologies, he has introduced innovative methods in the diagnostic sector, combining bioinformatics skills with genetic and molecular biology applications. His contribution has led to recognition with the National Award for Innovation in Oncological Diagnostics.

An active member of international scientific societies, he collaborates with research groups in genetics and biochemistry, contributing to the development of new approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of complex diseases. His multidisciplinary experience combines high-level scientific skills with managerial and entrepreneurial skills, making him a reference figure in the field of Laboratory Medicine.

Caterina A. M. La Porta is full professor of general pathology, group leader of the Oncolab Laboratory (www.oncolab.it) of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy and member of the steering committee of the Center for Complexity and Biosystems of the University of Milan (www.complexitybiosystems.it),

Prof. La Porta was included in Stanford University's 2024 list of Top 2% Cited Scientists. He spent many periods abroad collaborating with numerous international universities and research institutes, including MIT, Cornell University, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Aalto University and LMU in Germany. He has published more than 150 publications that contribute to the fields of digital medicine, cancer plasticity, computational biology, systems biology, neuroscience, biophysics and biomaterials. In 2017, he wrote a textbook on the 'Physics of Cancer' published by Cambridge University Press.