The European Genetics Foundation (EGF) is a non-profit organization, dedicated to the training of young

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...

s active in medicine, to continuing education in genetics/genomics and to the promotion of public understanding of genetics. Its main office is located in

Bologna, Italy Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

Background

In 1988 Prof. Giovanni Romeo, President of the European Genetics Foundation (EGF) and professor of Medical Genetics at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

and Prof.

Victor A. McKusick Victor Almon McKusick (October 21, 1921 – July 22, 2008) was an American internist and medical geneticist, and Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore. He was a proponent of the mapping of the human genome due to its ...

founded together the European School of Genetic Medicine (ESGM). Since that time ESGM has taught genetics to postgraduate students (young

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

and PhD) from some 70 different countries. Most of the courses are presented at ESGM's Main Training Center (MTC) in Bertinoro di Romagna (Italy), and are also available via

webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...

at authorized Remote Training Centers (RTC) in various countries in Europe and the Mediterranean area (Hybrid Courses). In the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, medical geneticists must attend at least one ESGM course before admission to their Board examinations. For these reasons, the School has been able to expand and to obtain funding from the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

and from other international organizations.

Presentation of the Ronzano Project

The European School of Genetic Medicine was founded in 1988 and saw rapid success, which necessitated that an administrative body be formed. To this end the European Genetics Foundation was born in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

on 20 November 1995, with the following aims: *to run the ESGM, promoting the advanced scientific and professional training of young European Geneticists, with particular attention to the applications in the field of preventive medicine; *to promote public education about genetics discoveries; *to organize conferences, courses, international prizes and initiatives aimed at bringing together the scientific and humanistic disciplines. The ESGM began receiving funding from the European Union and from other international organizations including the

European Society of Human Genetics The European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) is a non-profit organization that promotes research, facilitates communication and encourages best practice in applications of human and medical genetics, particularly in Europe. The society organizes t ...

, the

Federation of European Biochemical Societies The Federation of the European Biochemical Societies, frequently abbreviated FEBS, is an international scientific society promoting activities in biochemistry, molecular biology and related research areas in Europe and neighbouring regions. It was f ...

, the

March of Dimes March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to comba ...

and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. Since its founding, the ESGM has become a model for other European institutions responsible for advanced training in genetics. In order to fully realize all of the European Genetics Foundation's aims, the Foundation has identified a permanent site for the ESGM at the Hermitage of

Ronzano Ronzano is a suburban district of Bologna, Italy on a hill west-southwest of the city centre. It is notable for its hermitage. In 1848 G. Dozza discovered Etruscan artefacts on the Ronzano hill. These included some bronzes; a sword, with broken b ...

, a monastery situated in the hills of Bologna, at 3.5 km from the city center and 7 km from the airport. The monastic order of the Servants of Maria, founded in Florence in 1233 and owner of the Hermitage, donated 16,000 m² for the purpose of constructing this center, which will be named the ''Giuseppe Levi and Victor A. Mckusick Euro-Mediterranean Center for Genetics and Medicine''.

Giuseppe Levi Giuseppe Levi (14 October 1872 – 3 February 1965) was an Italian anatomist and histologist, professor of human anatomy (since 1916) at the universities of Sassari, Palermo and Turin. He was born on 14 October 1872 in Trieste to Jewish parents, M ...

, a world-famous scientist, trained three Nobel Laureates (

Salvador Luria Salvador Edward Luria (August 13, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an Italian microbiologist, later a naturalized U.S. citizen. He won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1969, with Max Delbrück and Alfred Hershey, for their discoveries ...

Renato Dulbecco Renato Dulbecco ( , ; February 22, 1914 – February 19, 2012) was an Italian–American virologist who won the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on oncoviruses, which are viruses that can cause cancer when they infect anima ...

and

Rita Levi-Montalcini Rita Levi-Montalcini (, ; 22 April 1909 – 30 December 2012) was an Italian Nobel laureate, honored for her work in neurobiology. She was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with colleague Stanley Cohen for the ...

), and Victor A. McKusick is considered the father of

medical genetics Medical genetics is the branch tics in that human genetics is a field of scientific research that may or may not apply to medicine, while medical genetics refers to the application of genetics to medical care. For example, research on the caus ...

throughout the world. The European Genetics Foundation envisions the Ronzano Center as a venue for advanced training, and as a think tank where experts in genetics and related disciplines from all over the world can discuss issues of scientific, social, and political relevance, and to develop problem-solving strategies to address these issues. The new center will host: *the European School of Genetic Medicine (ESGM) *a European observatory for the legislation regarding genetic testing and policy regarding genetics research *advanced scientific courses outside of the area of Genetics, geared toward scientist from developing countries *a residential center in which Professors and students can live during residential courses *the Federation of the Association for Rare Diseases of Emilia-Romagna. (GIG, Genetic Interest Groups) *various projects to diffuse information about genetics to the public.

References

EGF siteRonzano site
{{authority control Biology in Europe European medical and health organizations Genetics organizations Medical and health organisations based in Italy