Curiosity and the desire to live abroad have pushed Giorgia Lo Presti, a young doctor from Messina, to undertake her specialization in Switzerland, a country that immediately fascinated her and made her feel at home. The girl has lived in Lugano for 5 years and currently works as an assistant doctor in internal medicine, in the hematology department of the cantonal hospital in Bellinzona.
In the last year she has been engaged in several Covid centers, in close contact with the emergency and, during the first wave, she took part as a researcher in an important study on antibodies produced by subjects positive to the virus, published in the prestigious scientific journal “Cell”. The aim of the research was to support further investigations in the serological field and to lay the foundations for developing new therapies.
“I studied in Messina, first at the Bisazza Scientific High School and then at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of our University – said Giorgia – doing German courses during university years, summer internships in Switzerland and Erasmus in Germany”. Two Nations that the girl immediately felt similar to her character, even if in the end, the final choice fell on Switzerland. «After the qualification obtained in Messina, I left for Lugano, where I already had a contract – explained the young woman -. The Swiss specialization system is in fact very different from the Italian one, and allows you to immediately enter the world of work. You do not enter by competition, but you have to send your CV to the various hospitals and if you are positively evaluated, you are hired for one or two years. Furthermore, you are not forced to immediately choose the type of specialization, but you can modify it according to your interests. I myself started with Surgery, but then I realized that Internal Medicine fascinated me more ».
Participation in the study published in “Cell” dates back to the first months of the pandemic. “The structure where I worked at that time was transformed into a Covid hospital – said the doctor – and even if I should have dealt only with research, I was called back to the front line. In the meantime, this work on the evaluation of the antibody response in patients affected by the virus has begun, so in order not to lose this possibility, at night I covered the shift in the wards and as soon as I dismounted, I dedicated myself to research. It was hard, but also a great satisfaction ».
The study showed that the number of antibodies developed by those who have contracted Covid-19 is proportional to the severity of the disease and that the half-life of these antibodies is less than two months. Later, the Messina woman was hired by the Cantonal Hospital of Locarno and is now continuing her specialization in Bellinzona. Although the Swiss experience is giving Giorgia multiple achievements, Messina is still the place to return to whenever it can: “Even if I’m taking root here – he commented – my city will always be the place I will continue to call home”.
© All rights reserved
–
