Prof. Dr. Giacomo Simonetti
Medical and scientific director
Surgical and medical pediatrics is concerned with the health of neonates, infants, children, and adolescents; their growth and development; and their opportunity to achieve full potential as adults. Pediatric care encompasses a wide spectrum of health services ranging from preventive health care to the diagnosis and management of acute and chronic (often malformative) diseases.
Pediatrics deals with biological, social and environmental influences on the developing child and with the impact of disease and dysfunction on development. Children differ from adults anatomically, metabolically, physiologically, immunologically, psychologically and developmentally.
The Institute of Pediatrics of Southern Switzerland has a dedicated research unit, conducted by Dr. F. Vanoni, PD Dr. B. Goeggel Simonetti and Dr. A. Glücksberg-Stefani, which is included in the SwissPedNet network, a Swiss based network founded in order to promote pediatric clinical research in Switzerland. In this contest, the Institute of Pediatrics of Southern Switzerland is involved in the SPHN Project “Harmonizing the collection of health related data and biospecimens in pediatric hospitals throughout Switzerland”.
The research unit is oriented mainly on clinical research in differents fields of pediatrics: Cardiology, Infectious disease, Neuropediatrics, Neonatology, Nephrology, Nursing sciences, Oncology, Pediatric Surgery and Rheumatology.
Below principal area of research for each subspecialty:
- Cardiology-Nephrology (Dr. C. Leoni-Foglia, Dr. A. Stefani- Glücksberg, Prof. Dr. M. G. Bianchetti and Prof. Dr. G. D. Simonetti): childhood hypertension, cardiovascular risk factors in the young.
- General Pediatrics (Prof. Dr. M. G. Bianchetti and Prof. Dr. G. D. Simonetti): Systematic reviews of rare diseases or rare complications of frequent pediatric diseases.
- Infectious disease (Dr. L. Kottanattu): prevalence of rare infectious diseases in childhood.
- Neuropediatrics (PD Dr. B. Goeggel-Simonetti, Prof. Dr. G. P. Ramelli): Neurovascular diseases, epilepsy, autism spectrum disorders and cerebral palsy.
- Neonatology-Nursing Science (RN, MSc, PhD(c) C. Balice, Dr. M. Ragazzi): Pain prevention in the newborn.
- Onco-hematology (Dr. P. Brazzola): Participation in childhood oncology therapy protocols and registries. Pharmacological development in hemophilia.
- Pediatric Surgery (Dr. M. Mendoza, Dr. V. De Rosa and Dr. E. Montaruli): minimal invasive surgery, orthopedic and surgical trauma.
- Rheumatology (Dr. F. Vanoni): international cohort rheumatology diseases registry, periodic fevers.
The main goal of the research unit is to promote high- quality pediatric clinical research in the italian part of Switzerland and to approach young fellows and medical students of Swiss Universities to clinical research in pediatrics.
The Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of the Università della Svizzera Italiana will have a Master Medical School starting in 2020. Together with teaching activities, researchers of the Institute of Pediatrics of Southern Switzerland will promote clinical resarch in pediatrics among the students of the University. Members of the institute are active in the supervision of master- and MD-theses.
