The members of the Faculty Board and the PhD students are involved in Third Mission activities, making significant contributions to clinical trials and health protection initiatives, public engagement efforts, the development of intellectual or industrial property, and citizen empowerment.
I – Clinical trials: Members of the Faculty Board participate in numerous clinical trials. This contribution helps strengthen ongoing and productive relationships with local, national, and international companies. PhD students with medical expertise from the 37th, 38th, 39th, and 40th cycles are involved as sub-investigators in ongoing clinical trials (n=32) as part of their research projects. PhD students from the 41st cycle will have the opportunity to participate in clinical trials at the clinical centers affiliated with the PhD faculty members.
II – Health protection initiatives: Some members of the Faculty Board, involving PhD students, are engaged in various initiatives aimed at protecting citizens’ health.
The most recent outreach efforts occurred in February 2026 and focused on lifestyle, prevention, and counseling services related to breast cancer.
III – Public engagement activities: The members of the Faculty Board engage in Public Engagement activities, as shown by their many contributions to science communication through publications for a non-academic audience, radio and television programs, website creation and management, and activities involving interaction with the school system.
IV – Development of intellectual or industrial property: The members of the Faculty Board are involved in developing intellectual or industrial property.
Professors Rughetti and Pierelli already hold Italian and international patents (n. MI2001A000940 and WO2004039845A8; RM2011A000500 23-9-2011, International Patent PCT: 24/09/2012 PCT/IB2012/055062).
For example, Professors Rughetti, Napoletano, Zizzari, Marchetti, and Botticelli filed an Italian patent application for an industrial invention (application number: 102022000011795, dated 03/06/2022; PCT/IB2023/055561, https://www.uniroma1.it/it/brevetto/102022000011795).
PhD student Angelica Pace is part of the research team that received funding from MIMIT in 2023 for developing a “Proof of Concept” (POC) to extend and improve the patented technology.
The latest international patent, “Improved method and means for spatial nucleic acid detection in situ,” was filed (application number: EP23215037, https://www.uniroma1.it/it/brevetto/ep23215037, dated 07/12/2023) as a collaboration between Sapienza and the MDC Center in Berlin (Prof. Ferretti and Prof. Rajewsky).
V – Citizen empowerment: As part of initiatives dedicated to Citizen Empowerment, members of the Faculty Board participate in various diagnostic and therapeutic clinical centers that support patient empowerment, such as the Regional Center for the Study of Rare Diseases and the Regional Neonatal Screening Center for genetic-metabolic diseases.