Elena Cattaneo

In Italy (and beyond), those who mention stem cells and neurodegenerative diseases also mention Elena Cattaneo. At 56 years old, from Milan, with two children, a pharmacy graduate who spent some years at MIT in Boston, today Cattaneo heads the Stem Cell Biology and Pharmacology of Neurodegenerative Diseases laboratory at the University of Milan and coordinates, among other things, the European project NeuroStemcell, which involves 16 laboratories from seven countries.

Important discoveries on Huntington's chorea are linked to his work. Cattaneo also dedicates himself to outreach and has never hesitated to take a stand for research freedom and the separation between ethical issues and scientific progress, particularly opposing the ban on the use of embryonic stem cells.