The award is assigned every two years to a living scientist for their studies in the area of Physiology completed in the last 10 years. It was established thanks to a donation from Eng. Gino Herlitzka, and is alternately national and international. Amedeo Herlitzka (1872-1949) was one of the pioneers of experimental embryology and developmental biology, active in Rome, Turin and Buenos Aires in between the two wars, when he furthered our understanding of muscle physiology and hypoxia.
The commission awarded the Prize to Prof. Schiavo because "Giampietro Schiavo's studies have provided exceptional contributions to the understanding of the nervous system, discovering the mechanism of retrograde axonal transport in neurons and demonstrating that an impairment of long-range communication caused by in axonal transport constitutes a key pathogenic mechanism in neurodegenerative diseases. These fundamental discoveries are now actively guiding translational research in the identification of new drug targets and therapeutic interventions aimed at halting the progression of several devastating human diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, tauopathies and peripheral neuropathies ”
"I am delighted of being awarded this prize from one of the most prestigious Italian Academies. It is a testament of the fantastic work done by my team and collaborators, and the unrivalled scientific environment of the Queen Square Institute of Neurology and Faculty of Brain Sciences at UCL" Professor Gipi Schiavo
Professor Schiavo will be presented with the award on November 21st, 2022 during the official opening of the Anno Accademico 2022-23.