About us
Biogem (Biology and Molecular Genetics) is a consortium between public research institutions (National Research Council, Zoological Station ‘Anton Dohrn’ of Naples) and Universities (“Federico II” of Naples, “Luigi Vanvitelli” of Campania, Milano-Bicocca, Sannio, Foggia, Suor Orsola Benincasa of Naples, Lumsa of Rome, Udine, Molise), as well as the Municipality of Accadia, the Mountain Community of Ufita, the Biogem Foundation, the Irpinia-Sannio Chamber of Commerce and the 'Mario Negri' Institute of Pharmacological Research.
Biogem's research is structured in two macro-areas: biomedical research and biotechnological research.
Biomedical research is in turn structured into two areas:
- Oncology Area, divided into:
- Oncology and Precision Medicine
- Epigenetics
- Nephrology Area, divided into:
- Rare diseases
- Kidney physiology and cellular biology
- Kidney and brain.
Biotechnological research includes
- Pharmacological and Preclinical Development
- Protein Factory
- Staminality and Tissue Regeneration
- Genetic Diagnostics
- Nutraceuticals
- Zebrafish and Transgenic Modeling, divided into Zebrafish Aquaculture, Experimental Embryology and Gene Targeting.
Biogem also has a research group in Computational Biology, focused on research in the field of systems biology and cancer genomics, and a Bioethics unit.
Furthermore, Biogem has a Test Facility for preclinical regulatory research recognized and certified by the Ministry of Health as operating in compliance with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP). The certification is valid for:
- Toxicity
- Biocompatibility
- Pharmacokinetics/Toxicokinetics and Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Elimination (ADME) studies
- Medical devices.
Biogem extends over a total area of 33,000 square meters of which 8,200 are covered. Located in an originally desert area, in its own spaces and in the surrounding area (24,200 square meters) Biogem has planted an olive grove of 800 plants, 400 of which are centuries-old, 2,000 trees and a botanical garden of 1,600 square meters. Despite the considerable increase of its spaces, Biogem has achieved important results in reducing energy consumption and has eliminated the overall energy cost thanks to the use of renewable sources and interventions of insulation and efficiency of the systems.
Biogem acquired the certification of Training Organization with Decree no. 172 of 04/11/2011 of the Agency for Employment and Education of Campania Region.
Among Biogem's training activities, the University Industry Internship Program (UIIP) is worth mentioning. It offers programs aimed at placing graduate students in companies, and it is financed directly by the companies that request relevant profiles. The UIIP courses, focused on Digital-related topics (e.g., ERP/SAP, Analytics tools, Digital Web, etc.), are organized by a Biogem team, which uses specifically recruited teachers, coming from both academy and research, as well as from industries. Over the last few years of the UIIP Program, approximately 4,000 students have been trained and placed in work and over 60 leading companies have been involved, such as Accenture, Deloitte, Reply, BGP Consulting, etc. The average placement rate at the end of the training phase is 98%, with 100% in most of the latest editions.
In the Biogem laboratories, doctoral projects are developed in collaboration with different regional and national universities, on highly topical issues in the field of scientific research. At present, there are about twenty projects in progress.
Biogem organizes also a seminars’ activity, carried out by internal and external speakers, and spread throughout the year.
In the context of the dissemination of scientific culture, a consolidated mission of the Institute, Biogeo, a Museum of the History of Earth and Life, plays an outstanding role. It was created in collaboration with the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and it is characterized by an extensive use of multimedia technologies.
Still on the front of high-level dissemination, Biogem organizes the yearly meeting 'The Two Cultures', at the beginning of September. The meeting was inspired by the homonymous essay by Charles Percy Snow, in search of a new cultural paradigm, capable of overcoming the historical dichotomy between human sciences and hard sciences. The event, honored by the presence of several Nobel Laureates and of outstanding cultural figures in all the 15 editions organized so far, had the privilege of the presence of the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella in 2018.
Finally, Biogem plays a role of incubator for companies in biotechnology research and in Information and Communication Technology sector, with a significant impact on the surrounding area in terms of employment (over 60 people employed).
On 14 July 2006, in a solemn ceremony, in the presence of Rita Levi Montalcini and other major political, academic and scientific authorities, Biogem was opened in the Camporeale district at Ariano Irpino. This was the beginning of our adventure in a place rich in history, not only for the presence of the ancient farms, remnants of seventeenth-eighteenth-century architecture, but also for having been the scene of a very important event in the life of Southern Italy. In the expanse of Camporeale, in 1140, a large 'royal-field' was set up to house King Roger II and the hundreds of barons and feudal lords, with their respective followers, gathered from the entire territory of the new Kingdom, extending from Sicily to the Tronto river. The first 'parliament' was summoned in today's Camporeale district, and on that occasion the Constitution of the newborn Kingdom (the "Assizes of Ariano") was promulgated.
The choice of this location as the headquarter of Biogem stems from a challenge: creating a successful biomedical research center with all its downstream activities in the hinterland of a southern region, far from big cities and the traditional circuits of research institutions. In short, the challenge to offer a contribution to the battle against the underdevelopment of the South, focusing on culture, research and innovation, via the extension of the 'research system' to a marginalized hinterland area in the South, traditionally cut off from such perspectives. The refusal to passively accept the policy of neo-centralism that is impoverishing inland areas and aggravating the problems of urbanized areas and worsening their own quality of life.
The beginnings were not easy, with the site ready and active only for a third of its extent. Today a lot has changed from a structural point of view and beyond. The complex has been completed, and is fully operational. Significant functional and aesthetic changes have been introduced (the deserted land of that time is now a rich olive grove of centenary plants which, together with a wonderful botanical garden, surrounds the complex). Cutting edge scientific equipment has been acquires and an impressive energy-saving plan has resulted in a major cost reduction, thanks to photovoltaic and wind systems and adequate insulation. A large two-level building, made of steel and glass, has recently been built, to be used as a venue for educational activities and conferences (Museum of the History of the Earth and of Life - Library - Conference Room). Residence for researchers and students is located downtown Ariano Irpino.
Biogem has significantly expanded and strengthened its original mission, and the traditional biomedical research activity has taken on a more marked translational orientation, to be ever more directly at the service of healthcare. The new front of pharmacological research has thus opened, with structures and facilities that cannot be found elsewhere in the South, such as laboratories for the preclinical experimentation of drugs, operating with methods certified and controlled by the Ministry of Health [GLP], as a production laboratory of proteins for pharmaceutical purposes, and as a nutraceutical laboratory.
Unlike traditional research institutes, Biogem has also aimed to be a center for higher education (master's degree courses, research doctorates and masters in agreement with Italian and foreign universities and its own post-graduate training courses, organized with large national and international companies.
Above all, Biogem did not intend to close itself in the narrow confines of biomedical scientific research. Therefore, every year in September we organize the "The Two Cultures" meeting: scientific conferences, literary workshops and artistic events inspired by the logic of dialogue between humanists and scientists around 'fundamental' themes. Following the same logic, a Museum of the history of life and the earth (Biogeo) was set up, full of significant finds and multimedia attractions, to fulfill the duty of spreading the knowledge of 'our' history and to increase the interest in science of the new generations from southern Italy.
Since 1970 the "Guido Dorso" awards, promoted by the Guido Dorso association, acknowledge young scholars from Southern Italy and personalities from the institutional, economic, scientific and cultural world who "have contributed, with their activities, to supporting development needs and progress of the South. Recipients, for the various sections of the 41st edition, were: Filippo Patroni Griffi, president of the Council of State (institutions); Gaetano Manfredi, Minister of University and Research (university); Roberto Defez, director of the microbial biotechnology laboratory of the institute of biosciences and bio-resources of the CNR of Naples (research): Paolo Scudieri, president of AdlerPelzerGroup (entrepreneurship); Federico Pirro, Università di Bari (economics); Giovanni Grasso, press and communication advisor to the President of the Republic (journalism). Finally, in the ordinary section, Dr. Eva Panetti (Università Parthenope) was awarded for the research project "Entrepreneurship and innovation in Campania".
We are proud to receive the Plaque of the President of the Republic as part of the Dorso Awards, declared President Ortensio Zecchino on behalf of the entire community of Biogem. We remember the incredible honor when the Head of State visited our institute in September 2018. Our gratitude - concluded Zecchino- goes to the Guido Dorso association and its president, for their action and initiatives of cultural promotion in the South over the years ''.
The members of the Jury were: Giuseppe Provenzano, Minister for the South and territorial cohesion; Andrea Amatucci, President of the scientific committee of the Dorso Association; Massimo Inguscio, President of the CNR; Arturo De Vivo, Rector of Università di Napoli "Federico II"; Nicola Squitieri, President of Dorso association; and Francesco Saverio Coppola, secretary.
In the honor roll there are some of the most authoritative representatives of the world of institutions, research, economics and culture: from Giovanni Leone to Giorgio Napolitano; from Renato Dulbecco to Franco Modigliani; from Pasquale Saraceno to Francesco Paolo Casavola.
Biogem in Ariano Irpino received the Special Plaque of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, as part of the 41st edition of the Guido Dorso awards. The Special Plaque award is conferred to an institution that works for the economic, social and cultural progress of Southern Italy. The initiative, sponsored by the Senate, the CNR and the University of Naples "Federico II", took place in the Sala Zuccari of Palazzo Giustiniani, in Rome, on 12 October last year.
Social Bodies
Board of Directors
Prof. Ortensio Zecchino (President)
Prof. Bruno Dallapiccola
Prof. Giuseppe Paolisso
Prof. Marco Salvatore
Prof.ssa Marialuisa Lavitrano
Scientific Director
Prof. Giovambattista Capasso
Managing Director
Dott. Tullio Bongo
Scientific Board
Prof. Giuseppe Remuzzi (Presidente)
Prof. Franco Locatelli (Vice Presidente)
Prof. Andrea Ballabio
Prof. Fortunato Ciardiello
Prof. Antonio Iavarone
Prof. Andrea Lenzi
Prof. Mauro Magnani
Prof. Antonio Ereditato
Prof. Enrico Rizzarelli