A journey through clinic and research

I started to study Medicine at the University of Genoa, Italy more than 20 years ago and I now realize that I was quite far from understanding what ‘Medicine’ really means. After weeks and weeks spent on books during the first year, I understood that becoming a MD not only requires the willingness to help people with health problems, but also strong motivation and dedication to learn a huge amount of notions. In Italy, as it is the case for several other countries, the University courses last 6 years, during which the MD student is fully engaged by individual study, lessons and seminars, exercises, and internships. With great enthusiasm and some anxiety, I then moved from the small village where I grew up and started such an adventure , aware that this was my way. During the third year, I met my first Mentor Prof. Franco Dallegri and joined his working groups in the First Clinic of Internal Medicine of the University Hospital San Martino as well as in the laboratory of the University of Genoa. There, I gained expertise in cellula r and molecular biology, with particular focus on the role of neutrophils in inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases but also atherosclerosis. At that time, the laboratory was populated by many young students eager to work days and nights to prove their hypot hesis. In this sense, I jealously preserve the memories of Saturday nights spent in the laboratory with the survival kits usually consisting of pizza...
Source: European Heart Journal - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research