Significant award for Giancarlo Forte

On Friday, June 25, Giancarlo Forte was bestowed upon the title of Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia (Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy) from the Ambassador of Italy, H.E. Mr. Francesco Saverio Nisio. This award – the second highest civilian commendation in Italy – is given as a special recognition of merit in promoting friendly relations, promoting Italian prestige abroad and cooperating with other countries.

Giancarlo Forte works at the International Clinical Research Center of St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno (FNUSA-ICRC) for the eighth year. He came to the Czech Republic from Japan, where he worked in one of the largest research centers, the National Institute for Materials Science. In FNUSA-ICRC, he built the Center for Translational Medicine, which operates in the premises of Biology Park Brno.

He is the principal investigator of the research team Mechanobiology of Disease. In his work he deals with the properties of stem cells, which have the potential to replace and regenerate damaged tissues, and can be used in the treatment of serious cardiovascular, metabolic, neurological and oncological diseases.

During the coronavirus pandemic, he and his team actively participated in research related to COVID-19. Part of his team helped set up and participated in the testing activities of the covid lab. Moreover, thanks to contacts in his native Italy, Brno scientists helped test nanotray filters and determined their permeability for certification purposes, as Italian laboratories were overwhelmed by testing and evaluating samples.

During the ceremony, held at the Institute of Italian Culture in Prague, Dr. Forte and his group gave as special present to the Ambassador: they printed a high quality microscopy picture of human stem cells, which rwe elaborated as to recall the colors of the Italian flag. The gift was highly appreciated by the Ambassador.

Congratulations to Giancarlo Forte and we wish many more successes!