Celebrating 40 Years of the “Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza” Institute of Molecular Genetics of the CNR
On Monday, January 12th, the “Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza” Institute of Molecular Genetics of the National Research Council (CNR-IGM) celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the start of its scientific activities at its current headquarters. The event was attended by, among others, CNR President Prof. Andrea Lenzi, Pavia Mayor Dr. Michele Lissia, the Lombardy Regional Councillor for Universities, Research and Innovation, Dr. Alessandro Fermi, and CNR-IGM Director Prof. Marco Foiani; as well as researchers, staff members and colleagues.
The anniversary marks an important milestone in the history of the Institute, which began between 1985 and 1986 with the gradual transfer of laboratories and research groups to the University Campus of Pavia. The campus itself was inaugurated with the opening of the CNR-IGM headquarters (then known as the Institute of Biochemical and Evolutionary Genetics – IGBE). Within this framework, the Institute has always been committed to combining research and education, and it continues to foster synergies with the University of Pavia, the CNR, and other actors in the local biomedical ecosystem. The day provided an opportunity to reflect on the path taken so far and to look ahead to the future of both the Institute and the Campus.
“Today we are celebrating a piece of Italian and global research history,” said CNR President Andrea Lenzi. “A history that began well over 40 years ago, in the 1960s, when the late Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza launched his first studies right here, making Pavia the first Italian hub for genetics research. This is an extremely broad field, ranging from population genetics to today’s achievements in molecular genetics, and one that we expect it will continue to offer much more. We are here today not only to celebrate the past, but also to open ourselves to the future, to the next 40 years of success.”
“The Institute of Molecular Genetics of the CNR has been a cradle for many scientists who have achieved international recognition. Moreover, it is a research facility that is deeply interconnected with the city and the surrounding area, fully embedded in the so-called ‘Pavia school’ from which many scholars have emerged. My hope is that this journey will continue, focusing on the talent and contribution of the many young people who today study and work in the field of biomedical research,” added CNR-IGM Director Marco Foiani.
The Rector of the University of Pavia, Alessandro Reali, stated: “The CNR is an important part of the history of Pavia and of my own personal history. The University wishes to continue investing in and integrating ever more closely with the CNR. The collaboration that has been established is truly effective and interdisciplinary: the Pavia system can offer a great deal to an institute such as this.”
Referring to the research carried out at CNR-IGM, the Mayor of Pavia, Michele Lissia, said: “I use a word that is often overused, but not in this case: excellence. It is important that those in positions of responsibility support such an important institute so that it may have a bright future.” He also expressed the hope that CNR-IGM “will grow into an attractive hub for researchers from outside, thereby recognizing Pavia as a centre with still untapped potential.”
The Lombardy Regional Councillor for Universities, Research and Innovation, Alessandro Fermi, remarked: “One of the elements most deeply ingrained in the Italian and Lombard DNA is the capacity to innovate; yet the public resources invested in this field have objectively been limited. I am thinking of the University of Pavia, the campus we are developing, IUSS, and the entire research landscape: we must provide continuous resources in order to enable at least medium-term planning.”
The event also provided an opportunity to retrace the history of the Cravino Campus in Pavia, which was conceived in the 1970s from the urban vision of architect Giancarlo De Carlo, who promoted a model of radical integration between the city and its university system. Designed as a polycentric and integrated complex, the campus extends across the northern area of Pavia, near the San Matteo Policlinic, and hosts University Departments (Pharmacy, Biology, Mathematics, Engineering, Geology), student residences, and three CNR institutes. In addition to the Institute of Molecular Genetics (CNR-IGM), these include the Institute of Applied Mathematics and Information Technologies “Enrico Magenes” (CNR-IMATI) and the secondary headquarters of the Institute of Geosciences and Georesources (CNR-IGG).
The building that houses CNR-IGM—the first to be completed within the complex—was designed to accommodate laboratories, offices and shared spaces. It is arranged over three above-ground levels and is characterized, like the rest of the campus, by design solutions evocative of a ship, with extensive use of iron structural elements (columns, railings), rounded walls, split levels and porthole-style windows. The colours that define the building, carmine red and blue, form an integral part of the Institute’s visual identity.
The building is adjacent to, and physically connected via an elevated corridor, the Department of Biology and Biotechnology of the University of Pavia. This connection is not merely architectural: it is ontological, as it reflects a continuity of intent and practice between scientific research and advanced teaching, between the production of knowledge and the transmission of learning.
Today, the “Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza” Institute of Molecular Genetics is a multidisciplinary research centre that has long been engaged in the study of nucleic acid metabolism and the genetic causes of hereditary diseases. CNR-IGM hosts researchers, technologists, technicians and students involved in national and international projects, within a multidisciplinary and collaborative environment. The Institute’s current outlook aims to understand the genetic, molecular, metabolic and mechanical mechanisms that influence the ageing process, using a plethora of different approaches and capitalizing on forty years of research into the biochemical and molecular processes of the cell. For this reason as well, CNR-IGM intends to contribute to the development of a dynamic and inclusive scientific ecosystem for the benefit of biomedical research and the life sciences within the Pavia context.