The legacy of a humble scientist: Edoardo Alesse, MD, PhD (1958–2025)

Abstract

As we walked down the long, dark corridor of the Coppito-II campus research facility at the University of L’Aquila, the air buzzed with anticipation and the faint rumours of laboratory equipment. A group of us, anxious graduate students, clutched our notebooks, hearts pounding with the uncertainty of meeting our supervisor for our final year theses. From the shadows, an imposing figure emerged, dressed in plastic goggles and personal protective equipment. Pausing briefly, his voice—warm yet authoritative—pierced the tension. “Welcome, everyone,” he announced. This was our introduction to Professor Edoardo Alesse on a chilly afternoon in L’Aquila in the late 1990s. In one gloved hand, he held an A3-sized X-ray film, its translucent surface illuminated by the radioactive signal from one of his experiments. Without hesitation and with a gleam in his eyes, he began to explain the significance of the results shown on the film. In that moment, standing in the corridor, we realized we were embarking on a transformative journey, guided by a mentor whose expertise promised to expand our understanding of scientific discovery. ...