Sabina Passamonti

I was born in Trieste in 1958 and grew up in the Cold War climate near the border. I attended the Classical High School Dante Alighieri in Trieste. I studied Medicine and Surgery in Trieste and after completing some clinical internships, I chose research. I graduated in biochemistry in June 1984 with honors. After two years at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, I returned to Trieste where I obtained my PhD in 1991, awarded with the medal of the Italian Society of Biochemistry. In 1992, I started my role as a researcher at the University of Trieste and for about ten years I did somersaults to balance work and young children.

I have developed my research line in molecular nutrition, studying the exchanges of matter between cells and the environment and have published articles that have become a reference for hundreds of colleagues (some publications are in the global top 10 in their scientific fields), overcoming many prejudices and the wall of referees.

I obtained public funding for the establishment of cross-border research and innovation networks with Slovenia. The Trans2Care network has been very successful with various offices of the European Commission and is indicated by independent observers as an example of biomedical cooperation between neighboring states. I am currently involved in Interreg cooperative projects with partners in Slovenia and Croatia, where I am responsible for communication and scientific dissemination tasks on behalf of all partners. The Iron Curtain was a ridiculous thing.

In my work group at the University of Trieste, we speak English because we almost always have foreign guests. I have several editorial activities for scientific journals. In 2012 and 2016, I obtained the national scientific qualification for the role of full professor. In 2018, I was chosen as a scientific expert for the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA, Parma), which ensures that 500 million European citizens have safe access to food, and this year I have become a full member of one of the scientific committees.