The BioGeM Institute (''Biologia e Genetica Molecolare'', "Biology and Molecular Genetics") is a nonprofit

consortium A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...

formed by the National Research Council (CNR), the University of Naples "Federico II", the LUMSA of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, the

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

AREA Science Park, the University of Udine, the

Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn The Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn is a research institute in Naples, Italy, devoted to basic research in biology. Research is largely interdisciplinary involving the fields of evolution, biochemistry, molecular biology, neurobiology, cell biol ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, the University of Sannio in

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

, the University of Foggia, the University of Milan Bicocca, the Second University and the

Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples The Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples () is a private university located in Naples, Italy. It was founded in 1895, named after the venerable sister Ursula Benincasa and is organized into 8 departments. Organization The university is divid ...

, the

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

Avellino Avellino () is a city and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

and the local mountain community of Ufita Valley. BioGeM was inaugurated in 2006 by

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

Rita Levi Montalcini and comprises research laboratories, services and teaching facilities. Scientific research, led by “Gaetano Salvatore” Genetics Research Institute (IRGS), takes place within ''Genetics and Translational Medicine (GTM)'' department and is aimed at understanding biological mechanisms and identifying the

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

s involved in the development and proliferation of various human

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical condi ...

s; the research is based on the use of

animal model An animal model (short for animal disease model) is a living, non-human, often genetic-engineered animal used during the research and investigation of human disease, for the purpose of better understanding the disease process without the risk of ha ...

s raised in a high level laboratory after the approval of the ethics committee for animal experimentation. Research primarily aims at fighting cancer and degenerative diseases, often in collaboration with international groups. Furthermore, the pharmacological research is carried out by a proper department named ''Medicinal Investigational Research'' (MIR), whose task covers the experimental verification of new drugs and the release of the related certifications. Furthermore, the training activities take place in a specific functional area named ''Life and Mind Science School'' (LIMSS). Since 2010 Biogem has yearly hosted a meeting named ''Le due culture'' ("The two cultures") which over the years has been attended by a number of Nobel laureates and also (in 2018) the president of Italy

Sergio Mattarella Sergio Mattarella (; born 23 July 1941) is an Italian politician and jurist who has served as the president of Italy since 2015. He is the longest-serving president in the history of the Italian Republic. Since Giorgio Napolitano's death in 20 ...

. The objective of the meeting is to find a common ground between humanistic and scientific knowledge. The institute also hosts an office of

Sopra Steria Sopra Steria is a European-based consulting, digital services, and software development company with 50,000 consultants. The company is headquartered in Paris and has operations in several countries in Western Europe. Sopra Steria has a new c ...

, a French company specialized in consulting and digital services. Since 2013 Biogem has a forensic genetics laboratory too.

Museum

Within the research center there is also Biogeo, a museum dedicated to the origins of geological history throughout the eras from the

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

until the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

. Founded in collaboration with the

National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (, INGV) is a research institute for geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surround ...

, the museum attempts to showcase and illustrate the origin and development of life on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

, with particular regard to the relationship between genome͵ environment and evolution. Starting from 2012, Biogeo has provided itself with a ''tetrasphere'', designed by the Italian physicist Paco Lanciano.

References

External links

BioGeM website
{{Authority control College and university associations and consortia in Europe Non-profit organisations based in Italy Scientific organizations established in 2006 2006 establishments in Italy Ariano Irpino Technology consortia