Blood vessels steer organ function. The endothelial cells in particular, which line the inside of the vessels, perform important steering and monitoring functions that have not previously been adequately understood. For the first time, the immunologist Donato Inverso and his colleagues managed to produce a high-resolution map of gene and protein expression in endothelial cells of the liver. His results allow a precise insight into the mechanisms of liver function and the steering of liver regeneration.
In addition, Donato Inverso was involved in the discovery that blood platelets that interact with liver and immune cells play a crucial role in the development of fatty liver, nonalcoholic fatty liver inflammation, and liver cancer.
Inverso obtained a doctorate from Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan in 2015 and subsequently joined Hellmut Augustin's division at the German Cancer Research Center. The research results he obtained there have been published in the most prestigious journals.
The Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Italy's national science academy, was founded in 1603 and is regarded as one of the most reputed and oldest science institutions. One of its earliest members was Galileo Galilei. Over a period of four centuries, the academy has brought together Europe's most influential scientists, artists, and writers, including Werner Heisenberg, Theodor Mommsen, Wilhelm Röntgen, and Max Planck.
The international Francesco de Luca Prize is awarded to doctors in the field of cancer medicine and carries prize money of 10,000 euros.