Once again, Italian research takes important steps forward. And once again it is a woman who reaches a significant milestone. Antonella Fioravanti is the most promising young scientist of the year for the Belgian Academy. She is responsible for a discovery on anthrax. And in a period when there is talk of the need to accelerate the discoveries on the Covid, to arrive at a vaccine as soon as possible, this all-Italian study is undoubtedly an important result.
Antonella Fioravanti and her studio
The researcher is from Prato and the prize was awarded to her for her research work on anthrax. And it would be the first time that the Belgian Royal Academy awards it to a foreigner. Antonella Fioravanti is a microbiologist at the Vrje Universiteit in Brussels. The prize is the Eos Pipet 2020 for having developed a technique that strips the bacterium anthrax of his protein armor, through llama antibodies, synchrotron light and a lot of imagination.
Antonella obtained her master's degree in biology at the University of Florence in 2010 with full marks and then continued her studies in France and in Belgium, where she is now a researcher. "I offer many compliments to Antonella - underlined the Vice President of the Tuscany Region and Councilor for Culture and Universities, Monica Barni -. But I would also like to tell you that her story as a young scholar is not just one witness precious of the value of training, but also a beautiful spot to make people understand what the best Europe is, as told by his curriculum with studies in Florence, Lille, Paris, Brussels. "
The revolutionary discovery of Antonella Fioravanti
The research of the Italian scientist lasted four years. "I feel like a scientist and a European citizen - he had pointed out a few months ago in an interview -. I graduated in Italy, I specialized in France and I did my research in Belgium. I am convinced that this is the right way to do research: by moving you learn, carry and take, talking to the world opens your mind". And her determination proved her right. “There are three types of contagion - explained Fioravanti talking about the research -: cutaneous, the most widespread, by respiratory tract and by ingestion. Bacillus has been present since prehistoric times and is very resistant and when exposed to the environment it turns into a spore becoming even stronger. It can even wait up to 300 years before attacking life forms ".
Research on anthrax
Antonella Fioravanti recreated an armor in the laboratory and then found a way to destroy it, with a “nanobody”, a piece of antibody taken from the llamas. The discovery was patented and according to the Prato scholar, the mechanism of action of these new antibiotics can also be used to fight other types of bacteria that cause different diseases. Anthrax is a white powder that when inhaled quickly enters the bloodstream and can lead to deadly sepsis within days. With her research Antonella Fioravanti has made an important contribution to science. Which earned her recognition. An all-Italian pride.
