The 2020 edition of Italian Research Day in the World, celebrated on April 15, the anniversary of the birth of Leonardo Da Vinci, falls at a crucial historical moment, when Italy and the whole world are confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Italian Research Day in the World allows reflecting on the importance of scientific collaboration in the search for a cure. The video message (see below) has been recorded by an exceptional testimonial of the Day, Mr Walter Ricciardi, Counsellor of the Minister of Health for Italy’s relations with international health organizations. This year also the network of twenty-six scientific experts and two space experts, present in twenty-one strategic countries, will participate in the campaign. These researchers offer their technical expertise working in many Italian Embassies abroad coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Their work allows strengthening the bilateral collaboration on scientific and technological matters. Over the last three years, this network has made it possible to finance 285 projects of great importance with 16 countries and 400 exchanges of researchers. Among these project there are significant initiatives to combat COVID-19 such as Exscalate, a super calculator virtually testing the most effective molecules to inhibit virus replication; a platform developed, among others, by Cineca and Politecnico of Milan, and the mathematical model developed by Italian researchers at Temple University, Sapienza University of Rome and Accademia dei Lincei. The model allows predicting the spread of the pandemic in Italy, thus helping to optimize medical resources.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqAsX8dvXRw&feature=youtu.be
