Again this year we have confirmed our support for Fondazione Umberto Veronesi in promoting science and research because we believe in this institution’s fundamental role in knowledge, progress, and development of better health conditions for the global population. Our support, in particular, is for the research activities of Dr. Marta Boccazzi, Ph.D. from the University of Milan. We met her to talk about her experiments, but also about what it means to do laboratory research in Italy.
I remember the precise moment when my curiosity for scientific research was born: it was in fourth grade, during a science class dedicated to the first experiments in genome manipulation. I was very fascinated by genetic engineering and by the entire journey that leads to a discovery. That's when I decided that this would be my career. In college, I chose biology, which gave me an overview of various fields, and with my master's degree, I majored in applied biology for biomedical research. After graduation, I started a Ph.D. in human physiology, which allowed me to continue my studies abroad, in Salzburg. It was a beautiful and very difficult experience: that's where I learned how to work in the laboratory, but also how to fend for myself, for the first time away from home. Then I came back to Italy, and after I finished my Ph.D., I started working in a pharmacology laboratory, which led to a second Ph.D. It was right then that I started studying glial cells in neuropharmacology. Long ago they were considered only as support cells for neurons. Over the years, there has been a growing awareness of the real role of glial cells and their fundamental importance both in physiological situations and, more importantly, in pathological conditions. They are the first to respond to any kind of damage, such as head trauma, brain ischemia, and neurodegenerative diseases. In these cases, the glial cells "turn on," begin to react, and impact the neurons. Therefore, research today focuses on the possibilities of restoring neuronal function by intervening in this type of cell. After my Ph.D., I continued my studies in Paris, and there I began to focus my interest on neurodevelopmental disorders.
The experiences abroad were valuable because doing research in a new context, with a new language, stimulated my curiosity so much and opened my horizons. The big difference is that, from an economic point of view, there are more public funds abroad while in Italy they are unfortunately low. Here most research is economically supported by private organizations, such as Fondazione Umberto Veronesi, to whom I am grateful for this third grant. Like me, many other researchers can go on with their work thanks to the support of Fondazione Umberto Veronesi.
Regardless of the location, doing research is a challenging job. I always tell the students with I work with that 90% of experiments fail. Of course, it is a joy when you succeed, but first, you have to deal with a lot of failures. It is a constant questioning of what to change, and how to improve. In my job, there are no negative results because the negative data is just data, and you use it anyway. This moment in history is difficult for science; there seems to be a misconception that science only says what it wants to say, even though it is exactly the opposite. When you research, you don't hide anything; on the contrary, you fear that something might be missed and you repeat every experiment.
This is why the scientific education carried out by Fondazione Umberto Veronesi is increasingly valuable. Their contributors succeed in explaining studies and discoveries in a simple form but without simplification, making complex concepts accessible to everyone.
In the field of neurodevelopment, my research investigates glial cell damage that occurs during fetal development and the consequences it has on the child, as well as the adult. Indeed, pathologies such as depression, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorders have a higher prevalence in individuals born to pregnancies with proven infectious complications. Maternal inflammation causes neuroinflammation in the offspring: an increase in inflammatory molecules and both short and long-term changes in the central nervous system. In this context, I am currently studying the positive impact that voluntary physical activity and nutrition have. We already know that these two elements have an important positive effect, but we are investigating the mechanism of action that they trigger at the molecular level, and then at a later stage we will evaluate the development of drugs that can replicate it.
From a practical point of view, research is never self-referential and solitary, because the data must always be discussed. I work as a team with two supervisors, a colleague, and a thesis student. Our days are always different. It all depends on the stage of the experiment we are in: initially, there is all the preparation, study, planning, and ordering of materials; this is often mixed with teaching, conference, and paper preparation. I can spend the whole day in the laboratory, among pipettes and microscopes, as well. The last research stage is the data collection and statistical analysis. However, for me, the best days are the ones when I don't use the computer.
The hypothesis I am trying to prove is very clear to me, but I have not succeeded yet. I am making many attempts, some of which have led to small demonstrations, but the final demonstration is still lacking. However, in this field, it is difficult to feel that you have reached an endpoint.
On a personal level, in the future, I hope to continue doing this work with the same passion with which I have always done it. For my research, the hope is to be able to understand and demonstrate some mechanisms that could be useful to patient-related research in the future. Every person who does research in the laboratory knows that they cannot be certain that their studies will one day reach humans, and sometimes that is hard to accept. We are dealing with cells and not patients, but that does not mean we ignore the fact that there is someone out there waiting for our findings. And that is a great responsibility.