The Institute of Molecular Genetics (IGM) of the National Research Council (CNR) celebrates the fortieth anniversary of the start of scientific activities at its current location with an event to be held on Monday, January 12, 2026. The President of the CNR, Prof. Andrea Lenzi, will be present at the event. This anniversary represents an important milestone in the history of the Institute, which began in the two-year period 1985–1986 with the progressive transfer of laboratories and research groups to the Pavia University Campus, which was inaugurated precisely with the headquarters of the IGM (at the time named Institute of Biochemical and Evolutionary Genetics – IGBE). In this framework, the Institute has always been committed to combining research and training, and continues to fuel synergies with the University of Pavia, the CNR, and with the other subjects of the local bio-medical context. The day will constitute an opportunity for reflection on the path taken and for a look towards the future of the Institute and the Campus.
The University Campus of Pavia
In the 1970s, the University of Pavia was deeply shaped by the urban planning vision of the architect Giancarlo De Carlo, who promoted a model of radical integration between the city and its university system. The Cravino Campus is the most significant realization of this approach. Conceived as a polycentric and integrated complex, the campus extends in the northern area of Pavia, near the San Matteo Polyclinic, and hosts university departments (pharmacy, biology, mathematics, engineering, geology), student residences and three CNR structures: in addition to the Institute of Molecular Genetics (IGM), there are the headquarters of the “Enrico Magenes” Institute of Applied Mathematics and Information Technologies (IMATI) and the secondary seat of the Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources (IGG).
The headquarters of the Institute of Molecular Genetics
The building that houses the IGM – the first to be completed in the complex – was conceived to accommodate laboratories, offices and common spaces. It is structured on three levels above ground and is characterized, like the rest of the campus, by design solutions that evoke the environment of a ship, with the extensive use of structural elements in iron (columns, railings), rounded walls, staggered levels and porthole windows. The colors that characterize the construction, carmine red and blue, constitute an integral part of the visual identity of the Institute. The building is adjacent and physically connected, via an elevated corridor, to the Department of Biology and Biotechnology of the University of Pavia. This connection is not only architectural: it is ontological, because it reflects a continuity of intent and practice between scientific research and advanced teaching, between the production of knowledge and the transmission of knowledge.
Scientific research at IGM
The “Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza” Institute of Molecular Genetics is a multidisciplinary research center engaged for years in the study of nucleic acid metabolism and the genetic causes of hereditary diseases. IGM hosts researchers, technicians and students engaged in national and international projects, in a multidisciplinary and collaborative context. The perspectives of the institute today aim to understand the genetic, molecular, metabolic and mechanical mechanisms that influence the aging process, using multidisciplinary approaches and capitalizing on forty years of study of the biochemical and molecular processes of the cell. Also for this reason, IGM intends to contribute to the construction of a dynamic and inclusive scientific ecosystem for the benefit of biomedical research and life sciences in the Pavia context.
The program of the event
The day will begin at 10:00 AM with institutional greetings from the Mayor of Pavia, Dr. Michele Lissia, the President of the National Research Council, Prof. Andrea Lenzi, and the Magnificent Rector of the University of Pavia, Prof. Alessandro Reali. Furthermore, Dr. Giuseppe Biamonti (former director of IGM), Prof. Marco Foiani (director of IGM), Prof. Stefano Piccolo (University of Padua and president of the IGM Scientific Advisory Board), Prof. Ferdinando Auricchio (University of Pavia) and Prof. Antonio Torroni (University of Pavia) will also speak.
