London – 16 May 2025 – As part of its science diplomacy activities, the Embassy of Italy in London hosted the event “The Power of Vaccination: from Discovery to Global Impact.”
The panel, organised in collaboration with the Association of Italian Scientists in the UK (AISUK), featured two leading experts in vaccine research: Professor Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford, and Professor Mariagrazia Pizza, Professor of Microbiology at Imperial College London.
The event opened with welcoming remarks by the Deputy Head of Mission, Minister Plenipotentiary Riccardo Smimmo, who highlighted the Embassy’s attention to the large and dynamic community of Italian academics and researchers in the United Kingdom, whose contribution to scientific progress is widely recognised across the country.
Professor Andrew Pollard then presented data illustrating the crucial impact that the introduction of mass childhood vaccination in the United Kingdom—as a public health policy measure—has had in bringing about the near disappearance of diseases that in previous centuries routinely caused the death of a large proportion of the population under the age of 15. He also warned that some of these illnesses are now worryingly re-emerging due to the spread of scientifically unfounded anti-vaccination views.
Finally, Professor Mariagrazia Pizza shared with the audience her extensive experience as Director of bacterial vaccine projects that have successfully led to two vaccines reaching the market. In particular, she described her role as Project Leader in the identification of new antigens for Meningococcus B using the innovative approach of “reverse vaccinology.” This work led to the development of a vaccine against MenB, recently authorised in more than 40 countries worldwide.
The initiative enabled the audience—both experts and non-experts—to gain a deeper understanding of the origins and one of the many applications of one of the most important medical-scientific discoveries in history.
For further information, please write to: stampa.amblondra@esteri.it
