19/11/2021 1 min

ANSES and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità sign a scientific partnership agreement

ANSES and the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità or ISS), Italy's leading public health research organisation, signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday 18 November 2021. The aim is to strengthen a long-standing scientific partnership between the two organisations in the areas of veterinary public health, food safety, nutrition and environmental health.  

Scientists from both organisations are already involved in numerous joint research projects as part of Horizon 2020 and EJP One Health, European programmes supporting research and innovation. They are also conducting joint initiatives on topics such as smoking or nutrition, funded by the European Union. As reference laboratories at national, European and international level, they work together to improve the surveillance, detection and control of foodborne infectious diseases and the resistance of pathogens to antibiotic treatment. ANSES and the ISS are also members of the association MedVetNet, whose purpose is to promote a "One Health" approach to controlling zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance, and to improve the quality of the food supply in the European Union.

This agreement will strengthen cooperation, through exchanges of technical knowledge and expertise, and the sharing of cutting-edge technologies for increasingly effective scientific studies. The partnership will cover topics such as nutrition, pathogenic organisms including zoonotic pathogens, viruses and chemical contaminants in food, including endocrine disruptors and nanomaterials, and the health impacts associated with exposure to chemicals. 

The agreement was signed in Rome last Thursday by Professor Silvio Brusaferro, President of the ISS, and Dr Roger Genet, Director General of ANSES. 

Photo credit © ISS