The Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research is a 50-year old non-profit biomedical research organization.The Institute’s research programs span from the molecular level to the whole human being and to populations and the findings help build up the basis for developing new drugs, and making existing ones more effective and safe. The main research headings are the battle against cancer, nervous and mental illnesses, cardiovascular and kidney diseases, rare diseases and the toxic effects of environmental contaminants, mother and child’s health. The Institute is also involved in research on pain relief and drug addiction. The Institute has published more than 11,000 scientific papers on peer-reviewed international journals so far.

The research activities of the Laboratory of Geriatric Neuropsychiatry have been mainly centred on (1) pharmacology (phase I, II, III trials and observational studies), epidemiology, and clinical course of dementia; (2) the critical appraisal of clinical methodology; and (3) the assessment of the quality of care and drug use in aged patients. During the last decade the Laboratory has broadened its activities to the study of the relationship between various pathologies, particularly anaemia, and the clinical, cognitive and functional condition of elderly subjects. In order to improve the diagnostic process, quantify disease evolution and test the efficacy of therapeutic interventions, the Laboratory of Geriatric Neuropsychiatry has always been involved in developing, preparing the Italian version, and validating instruments and tests able to reliably assess the different aspects characterising the clinical expression of Alzheimer’s disease: cognitive deficits, functional disability and behavioural disturbances, as well as global outcomes. Ugo Lucca has conducted several clinical trials of antidementia drugs. He is responsible of the Monzino 80-plus Study, a large prospective study on the epidemiology of dementia in the oldest old residents in the province of Varese, Italy, and of the neuropsychological part of the Canton Ticino Study, Switzerland. Mauro Tettamanti has been responsible for the statistical analyses of several multicentric studies on the efficacy and safety of anti-dementia drugs and of population-based studies in the elderly population. Emma Riva is a clinical expert in cardiovascular disorders and the coordinator of the Health and Anemia Study, a population-based survey in the elderly population of Biella, Italy.

The Mario Negri Institute is partner of the European Clinical Research Infrastructures Network (ECRIN), an European network dedicated to facilitate the conduct of multinational clinical trial. ECRIN supports, services, coordinates, and manages high-quality, independent, and fully transparent multinational clinical research. ECRIN synergizes the capacities and capabilities of national clinical research. The Mario Negri Institute hosts the European Correspondent for Italy.