** History of the institution **
The scientific association ISOPROG (from the acronym of the Italian “Istituto Somatogene per la Oncologia Personalizzata e la Ricerca Onco-Genomica”) was legally established in 2014 as non profit organization for biomedical research and related life sciences applied to human health with major focus on cancer research.
It is officially recognized as non-profit health research organization and enlisted in the Italian registry for non-profit organization (with the “Onlus” acronym) on 2016, replaced more recently by the Italian registry of third sector (non-profit) organizations and companies with social focus and/or operational model (RUNTS registry).
Its international network is enhanced and enriched since 2017 by the parallel incorporation of a US sister organization (Somatolink Foundation inc.) meant to provide both logistic and synergistic local cooperation with US-based institutional partners.
Since 2016 the network has been pursuing competitive and self-financed research by performing the experimental activities of its researchers in affiliated laboratories at hosting institutions in the Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, USA) area, while conveying the post-analytic (bench-free) part of the network’s scientific work (focusing mostly computational biology, biostatistics, scientific manuscripts assembly and submissions, etc.) in its Italian headquarters.
The acquired history and scientific leverage make ISOPROG an ideal partner towards consortia-driven initiatives meant to confer proper value and eligibility for ongoing or planned governmental accrediting paths related to research hospital candidates as well to new medicine and/or biomedical related academic courses in the Italian and European extended geographic and regulatory context.
** Why is Isoprog a non-profit association? **
“I have been often asked why ISOPROG ETS was incorporated under a non-profit association rather than a commonly used Foundation format.
The reasons are not superficial as one may think. As Director and co-founder of ISOPROG and its associated international project meant to be shared with my native territory, I would like to share such reasons publically.
First off, I’ve always believed that the results of biomedical research constitute a heritage for the entire human race rather than a type of knowledge that should be owned or controlled by an elite of academic experts.
In particular, the results of research originated on biological material deriving from donor patients (that in technical language is referred as to “translational” to differentiate it from its “basic” form, not directly applicable to the patient) is even more relevant for the research bioasset donor (the patient).
An example in support of such statement stands on the use of the donor biospecimen towards the genomic profiling/typization of altered cells towards identifying personalized effective treatments for his/her case.
In this context, after years of study started in California on the operational models towards functionally connecting personalized research to each patient, we have come up with the idea of democratization of the donor-based research by involving the patient in his/her diagnostic process which can be conveyed in a vehicle non-profit research-centered organization where the patient is also a co-stakeholder of the research results obtained through his/her bioasset.
This is how ISOPROG-Somatolink Expert-Patients-for-Patients Research Network was established between 2014 and 2017 (in September 2024 it will mark the first decade from its incorporation).”
P.Scalia
** Team **
Profile of members
Members number, & type of expertise
76 members (April 2024)
Proficiencies and professional activities
- Academic research (basic & translational – STEM areas)
- R&D (private sector)
- Education and teaching
- Health services
- Bioinformatician and biostatistics
- Advanced laboratory services
- Tech & innovation support and consultancies
Areas (and sub-areas) of research Expertise - Health-related Life Sciences
- Cellular and molecular biology
- Proteins and nucleic acids’ (RNA, DNA) biochemistry
- Computational biology
- Molecular medicine
- Molecular and genomic pathology
- Oncological surgery
- Experimental oncology
- Molecular endocrinology
- Virology
- Pharmacology
- Bioethics
- History of science and medicine
ISOPROG ETS organizational chart for the three-year period 2024-2027
Board of Directors ISOPROG ETS 2024-2027
Presidente:
Scalia Pierluigi
Vice Presidente:
Asaro Salvatore
Direttore USA Network Operations:
Stephen J Williams
BOD 2024-2027:
o Scalia Pierluigi, MD PhD
o Asaro Salvatore, MD
o Williams Stephen J, PhD
o Averna Michele, PhD
o Iachetta Letterio, PhD
o Ing. Lo Presti Giacomo C.
o Mr. Vincenzo Cristaldi