Franco Locatelli, Chair of the Italian National Health Council, received the Master’s Degree honoris causa in Medical Biotechnology from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. The ceremony took place at the Department of Life Sciences. After Professor Lorena Rebecchi presented the reasons for the award, Locatelli delivered a Lectio Magistralis on how recent advances in biotechnology have contributed to the treatment of complex diseases such as cancer and congenital disorders.
The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia awarded a honorary Master’s Degree in Medical Biotechnology to Franco Locatelli, Chair of the Italian National Health Council, during a ceremony held at the Department of Life Sciences in Modena.
The award, proposed by the Department of Life Sciences and approved by the Academic Senate, recognises Locatelli’s scientific and clinical contribution in the field of paediatric oncohaematology, cellular therapy and biotechnological innovation in medicine.
Franco Locatelli graduated in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Pavia with 110/110 cum laude, subsequently specialising in Paediatrics and Haematology at the same University. From 2004 to 2010, he held the role of Full Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Pavia, while from 2022 he is Full Professor of Paediatrics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart.
He is currently Director of the Department of Oncohaematology and Cell and Gene Therapies of the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome and Coordinator of the Strategic Area of Haematology and Oncology of the same facility. In 2019, he was appointed Chair of the Italian National Health Institute, the highest technical-scientific advisory body of the Ministry of Health. In December 2021, he was appointed Knight of the Grand Cross by the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella.
His scientific activity has mainly focused on haematopoietic stem cell transplants, with particular reference to the use of transplants from a haploidentical family donor. He contributed to the introduction of innovative protocols for the treatment of leukaemia and paediatric solid tumours, studying strategies to improve the efficacy and reduce the complications of cellular therapy. He played a decisive role in the development of immunotherapy with CAR-T cells, which has revolutionised the treatment of leukaemia and lymphoma that are resistant to conventional treatments. We owe him studies, published in the most prestigious scientific journals, that have paved the way for the use of CAR T cells in solid tumours and the use of genetically modified cells for the definitive treatment of thalassaemia and sickle cell anaemia.
Author of over 1,400 scientific publications, Locatelli has obtained more than 69,700 citations in the main international databases. He has directed and coordinated national and international multicentre clinical studies in the onco-haematology field and is a member of scientific committees and work groups in health and academic institutions.
The ceremony opened with greetings from Rector Carlo Adolfo Porro. Professor Lorena Rebecchi read out the reasons for the award.
“With the Honorary Degree in Medical Biotechnology,” Professor Marcello Pinti reminded us during his speech, “we pay tribute to the work and career of a person who has put research and the extraordinary results of his research work at the service of the common good. Professor Franco Locatelli is an internationally renowned scientist, an excellent clinician, an indispensable reference for the medical and scientific community and, I might add, also and above all a man who embodies the highest values of the profession of those in the academic community, even more so in the medical field: rigour, passion and humanity.”
After conferring the degree, Professor Locatelli gave a Lectio Magistralis, during which he illustrated how the use of advanced therapies, based on the use of genetically modified cells of our immune system, CAR T cells, has radically changed the therapeutic perspective of patients suffering from haematological or solid tumours. These therapies, Professor Locatelli explained, are now also being used in the treatment of paediatric autoimmune diseases characterised by particular severity, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, thanks to pioneering studies conducted at the Bambino Gesù Hospital in Rome. In his lecture, in which the founding value of the University and Research was often recalled, Professor Locatelli went on to focus on the extraordinary results obtained in international collaborative studies based on genome editing, a molecular surgery approach, which has enabled the emancipation from transfusion dependency in all thalassaemic patients treated with this approach.
“Franco Locatelli ,” emphasises Unimore’s Magnificent Rector, Professor Carlo Adolfo Porro“, brought biomedical research into the concrete choices of medicine and public health. He has made a decisive contribution to the evolution of paediatric oncohaematological therapies, he has paved the way for new applications of CAR-T cells and he has guided crucial steps in Italian healthcare with competence and a good sense of institutions. During the Covid-19 pandemic, his role was central in providing clear guidance and coordinating responses based on the best available scientific evidence. As a doctor, researcher and Chair of the Italian National Health Institute, he faced challenges that required foresight and the ability to intervene at the most critical moments. The honorary degree is recognition of work that has left a concrete mark on the country’s research and health policies.”
“I am particularly honoured ,” comments Professor Franco Locatelli, “for this extraordinary recognition received from such a prestigious university as Modena and Reggio Emilia, and I extend my deepest gratitude to the Magnificent Rector and the Academic Body of this university. The honour reserved for me is a milestone in my academic career, which I wish to share with all the Colleagues with whom I have had the privilege of working over the years, with the Bambino Gesù Hospital where I have found the best conditions to put the research I have conducted to good use, and with the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, which represents the academic milieu where Science and care for those who suffer are exemplarily combined”.