University of Messina
The University of Messina is a public university, founded in 1548. It became the model for hundreds of colleges. The University of Messina promotes, maintains and develops intensive partnerships with foreign universities, so much so that the process of internationalization has become a strategic aspect in the areas of research, teaching and mobility of teachers, researchers and students. Clinical hospitals of the University for over 55 years has been a reference point for the city of Messina and its province. The attraction indices, in fact, of numerous specialties and services, among them in paediatrics and paediatric endocrinology, provided attract numerous patients from the whole of Sicily and from different regions of southern Italy.
Role in Project
The University of Messina are a key partner in the European research project Obelisk. Within this international consortium, the University of Messina plays a central role, particularly through its contributions to Work Package1, Work Package 3 and Work Package 5.
The research group led by Professor Wasniewska has extensive experience in childhood obesity and genetic obesity and will contribute to supporting and harmonising data from cohorts and other clinical studies relevant to the study of childhood obesity trajectories and life course, as well as microsimulation models. This will provide new insights into the complex pathogenic bases of childhood obesity and cost-effective tools for predicting childhood obesity in neonatal and childhood, as envisioned in WP1 and WP3.
At the same time, the University of Messina is actively involved in Work Package 5, which aims to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of new approaches and concrete interventions to prevent childhood obesity (primary prevention) or provide care for children and adolescents with obesity (secondary prevention). The Messina team participates in both clinical trials, TAPE Obesity and ADOBESIF, ensuring the scientific, ethical, and practical rigor of these interventions. Thanks to this involvement, the University of Messina serves as a vital bridge between scientific discovery and real-world application. By linking early prediction with targeted, personalised prevention, the university helps bring Obelisk's vision to life: a future where childhood obesity can be anticipated, managed, and ultimately reduced through evidence-based, individualised care.
People
Malgorzata (MD, PhD) is full professor in Paediatrics at the Department of Human Pathology of Adulthood and Childhood of University of Messina, Coordinator of the Degree Course in Paediatric Nursing and Director of Paediatric Clinic of University Hospital in Messina. She is paediatrician, clinical paediatric endocrinologist. Her research expertise includes: paediatric obesity; thyroid and growth disorders.
She is author of 212 publications in extenso, total IF 813,23: 4311 citations, h-index 35 (Scopus).
She is the member of: European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE), European Thyroid Association (ETA), European Childhood Obesity Group (ECOG), Italian Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology (ISPED), Italian Society of Endocrinology (SIE) and Italian Society of Pediatrics (SIP).
She is a member of the Program Organizing Committee and the Steering Committee of the European Study Group of Turner syndrome of ESPE, the steering committee of ISPED and the coordinator of the didactic commission of ISPED and member of the Scientific Commission of SIE.
Tommaso is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Messina since 2021.
Graduated in Medicine in 2004 and specialized in Pediatricsin 2009, he attended for a 12-month fellowship in 2008 the Department of Paediatric Endocrinology of the Royal Manchester Children Hospital. In April 2013 he became PhD in Experimental and Metabolic Endocrine Sciences.
He is member of the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the Italian Societies of Pediatrics(SIP), Endocrinology (SIE), and Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology (SIEDP/ISPED).
Author of 103 scientific paper published on international journals with impact factor and of more than 150 abstracts. His main fields of interest in research are thyroid, growth disorders, and obesity in childhood.
Giorgia is a pediatric specialist, particularly involved in the area of pediatric endocrinology. She is currently attending the 3rd year of PhD course at the University of Messina (Italy). She graduated in medicine and surgery in 2014 and she became a specialist in Pediatrics in 2020 at the University of Messina (Italy). Her research activity is mainly focused on small for gestational age infants, minipuberty, growth and puberty, paediatric gynaecology, childhood obesity and metabolism and thyroid gland.
Domenico is a Researcher in Pediatrics with specific interest in pediatric endocrinology. PhD in Medical and Surgical Biotecnology. Lecturer in Pediatrics at the University of Messina. Coordinator and collaborator of several National and International scientific research projects. Author of 67 scientific articles in pediatric and pediatric endocrinology published in international scientific journals. Member of the following Scientific Societies: European Society of Pediatric Endocrinology (ESPE), Italian Society of Pediatrics (SIP), Italian Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology (ISPED), Italian Society of Endocrinology (SIE).
Debora Porri
Debora is a biologist specializing in food science and human nutrition, with advanced training in developmental nutrition.
Debora is a research fellow at the Pediatric Endocrinology Center of the University Hospital of Messina and is currently in the first year of her PhD.
She is the author and co-author of several research articles published in extenso in international scientific journals.
She is a member of the Italian Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology (SIEDP), the European Childhood Obesity Group (ECOG), and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Nutrition Science Specialists (ANSISA).
Her research and activities focus primarily on pediatric nutrition, childhood obesity and public health.
Letteria Morabito
Letteria is currently a research fellow at the Pediatric Endocrinology Center of the University Hospital of Messina. After graduating in Medicine and Surgery in 2014, she completed her residency in Pediatrics at the University of Messina in 2020.
Since graduating, she has shown a growing interest in the field of pediatric endocrinology.
In recent years, she has attended several national and international specialization schools in pediatric endocrinology, honing her clinical and research skills.
She is the author and co-author of several research articles published in extenso in international scientific journals.
She is a member of the European Society of Pediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the Italian Societies of Pediatrics (SIP), as well as of the Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology Society (SIEDP/ISPED).
Her main research interests are adrenal diseases, growth disorders, and childhood obesity.
