Frontiers of life is the theme of the 2024 Ghislieri Prize, awarded annually by the Association of Alumni of the Pavia college of merit. The award, now in its thirteenth edition, will be given to two Alumni who, decades later, have worked to protect health by enabling progress on a large scale: one through pioneering work in the field of cardiac surgery, the other through direct commitment in some of the most disadvantaged nations in the world. The winners of the 2024 Ghislieri Prize are therefore united not only by the medical profession but, above all, by the belief that their work consists in increasingly moving the frontiers of medicine, both figuratively, thanks to technological advancement, and literally, thanks to practice in distant lands.
This year the Ghislieri junior award goes to Nicholas Binelloa member of Ghisleria since 2007, a specialist in internal medicine with a strong interest in global health: a UN official, he holds the position of Technical Officer at the WHO headquarters, dealing with strategies to combat epidemic meningitis on a global scale, with particular attention to sub-Saharan Africa, where in the past he personally coordinated the medical departments of two rural hospitals in Ethiopia and South Sudan.
With him – in the role of “senior” award winner – also the doctor Mario Viganò.
«This year we are awarding two extraordinary figures. We all know Prof. Mario Viganò and we know what he has been able to do in the field of heart transplants. As for Dr. Binello, suffice it to say that one of his goals is to defeat epidemic meningitis on a global scale. – says the lawyer Emilio Girinopresident of the Students Association and “soul” of the Ghislieri Prize –. Our Award, far from being a moment of self-celebration, has been and continues to be a showcase of the excellence expressed by the Collegio Ghislieri. Of all that these extraordinary figures have already been able to give and of what they will still be able to offer to society.».
The official award ceremony will take place on Thursday 3 October at the Aula Magna of the Collegio Ghislieri in Pavia, during a public ceremony attended by representatives of the academic, business, professional and institutional worlds.