Giovanni Armenise Harvard Foundation

OUR MISSION To establish multidisciplinary, basic science research that will support leading scientists at Harvard Medical School and at foremost institutions in Italy, in the pursuit of knowledge and scientific discovery for the benefit of humankind, in the fields of medicine and agriculture. HOW WE PURSUE IT The Giovanni Armenise Harvard Foundation supports basic research in biomedical science, helping outstanding scientists pursue their vision and advance our understanding of key pathological mechanisms. The Foundation is based in Boston, Massachusetts at Harvard Medical School, but devotes a significant part of its budget to Italy, and to fostering scientific collaborations across the Atlantic. The Giovanni Armenise Harvard Foundation was created in 1996 by the late Count Giovanni Auletta Armenise, and is now chaired by his son, Count Giampiero Auletta Armenise. Our president is Dr. George Q. Daley, Dean of Harvard Medical School. Since its inception, the Foundation has supported research activities at Harvard Medical School and at many institutes in Italy, with several different programs (see listing under Programs heading at the top of the page) that have evolved throughout the years, based on the changing needs of researchers and the economic outlook. It has also promoted collaborative programs between HMS and the Italian scientific institutions. In addition, the Foundation has sponsored a series of international symposia that have brought together hundreds of American and Italian scientists (see Our Scientists heading at the top of the page) to share their work and ideas. It offers grant and fellowship programs supporting individual scientists at Harvard Medical School , through the Junior Faculty Grant Program, and in Italy. In particular, it helps outstanding young researchers to establish their own research laboratory in Italy with the Career Development Award Program. And it encourages careers in science for young Italian university and medical students through its Summer Fellowship Program. It also sponsors two Professorships in Boston: The Giovanni Armenise Harvard Foundation Professorship in Basic Biomedical Science at Harvard Medical School and the Giovanni Armenise Harvard Foundation Professorship in Neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. HISTORY The decision of Count Giovanni Auletta Armenise to establish a foundation in the name of his uncle and mentor, arose from his love for his wife, Dianora Bertacchini, who died from a brain tumor in 1994. Following a worldwide search for the best available treatment for her condition, Count Auletta brought his wife to the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School (HMS). Unfortunately, the couple came to realize that the most sophisticated therapies then available could not stay the inexorable advance of the disease. They understood that, in part, ignorance of the underlying chemistry and biology of cancer cells prevented the development of more effective treatment. This realization, along with the belief of the then HMS Dean, Dr. Daniel Tosteson, that investment in research to address fundamental questions in science could transform both medicine and agriculture, resulted in a partnership through which they resolved to support basic scientific research at Harvard Medical School and in Italy. The Giovanni Armenise Harvard Foundation arose from this unique partnership formed between two men who wished to conquer disease by building a new infrastructure to fund the future of science. In 1996 the Foundation was established; its name honors Count Giovanni Auletta Armenise’s maternal uncle and mentor, Count Giovanni Armenise, who launched the first Italian pharmaceutical company to manufacture and distribute penicillin in 1950. In 2000, in recognition of the founder’s vision and generosity, Harvard Medical School renamed one of its buildings the Giovanni Auletta Armenise Medical Research Building. In 2006, Count Giovanni Auletta Armenise was presented with a plaque from the President of the Republic of Italy in celebration of the Foundation’s tenth anniversary and in recognition that the Count’s generosity and vision in establishing the Foundation has done so much for scientific research in Italy. In October, 2013, Count Giovanni Auletta Armenise passed away, which was a huge loss. Fortunately for the Foundation, his son, Count Giampiero Auletta Armenise, agreed to assume the chairmanship and continue the good work his father had begun.