Scientific Team

ROMINA CERVIGNI

Chief Scientific Officer

Romina Inés Cervigni, obtained a PhD from Open University in the United Kingdom focusing her attention on the field of oncology and a second level Masters in Nutrition and Dietetics. She has collaborated as a postdoctoral researcher with the National Research Committee (CNR) in Naples and the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan.

SARA LAUDANI

MD, Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine MS

Sara Laudani, Medical Doctor, becomes Infectious Diseases specialist and Radiologist at the University of Pavia (Italy) and works in several Hospitals of Lombardy. In 2005, she began to deal with nutrition and nutritional approach to chronic diseases. In 2012 she moved to Shanghai (China) where she became passionate about Traditional Chinese Medicine, became an acupuncturist, and worked as a specialist in Internal Medicine at several International Clinics, where she applied the clinical approach of integrated functional medicine to chronic diseases, in particular metabolic syndrome, autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer patients. It is at this point in her pathway that she meets the work of Professor Longo that she applies as integrated clinical approach with encouraging therapeutic results. In 2018, she earned the master’s degree in human nutrition and Functional Medicine at the University of Western States in Portland, Oregon, with a particular focus on the approach to autoimmune diseases and consolidates the nutritional and integrated approach to chronic diseases. In the same year she opened and directed the Integrated Functional Medicine branch at the Shanghai International Body&Soul Medical Clinics. Since 2022 she lives and works in San Diego, California, and Milan.

PAOLA PAONE

Ph.D, Nutritionist

She obtained a Master’s Degree in Human Nutrition Sciences and subsequently deepened her studies to understand the relationship between diet and health. She earned a Ph.D. at the Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium, funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). During her academic career, she focused on the study of prebiotics and next-generation beneficial bacteria, analyzing their contribution in counteracting metabolic diseases and obesity through gut microbiota modulation and protection of the intestinal barrier. She collaborated with different health experts, publishing the results of her research in prestigious international scientific journals. Currently, she is part of the Scientific Team at the Valter Longo Foundation, where she actively engages in the prevention and treatment of diseases through interventions related to diet, lifestyle, and the promotion of healthy longevity.

GHINA AL HAJ

Ph.D, Nutrition Researcher

Ghina AL Haj holds a PhD in Nutritional Sciences from University of Milan in Italy focusing her attention on the effect of dietary bioactive compounds and their health implications in metabolic diseases, such as obesity. Her professional career also includes a second level master’s in Food Sciences and Human Nutrition and a bachelor’s degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences. Ghina has a considerable research experience and is focusing on how nutrients are used by the body, and the relationship between diet, health, and disease. Her mission is to contribute to a better understanding of the interaction between diet, food, energy and nutrients, and human biology in order to achieve optimal physical and mental performance under various physiological conditions.
Dr. Ghina speaks three Languages Arabic, English and Italian and is currently part of the nutrition team at Fondazione Valter Longo, where she is involved in research on the longevity diet and the fasting mimicking diet

VIVIANA DELLO IOIO

Nutritional Biologist

Nutritional biologist, she carried out her studies at the University of Naples Federico II in Food Technology and subsequently obtained the title of Master’s Degree in Food and Human Nutrition at the State University of Milan. He carried out a curricular internship at the Valter Longo Foundation actively participating in nutritional support and dedicating himself to research activity. Passionate about finding the right balance between nutrition and health, she began collaborating as a Nutritional Biologist at the Valter Longo Foundation.

ANTONELLA PELLEGRINO

Nutritional Biologist, Specialist in Food Science

Nutritionist biologist with a degree in Biological Sciences obtained at the University of Messina. Following a great passion for human nutrition, she deepens her knowledge in this area by obtaining a Master in Clinical Nutrition and, to further refine her studies, a Specialization in Food Science at the University of Rome Tor Vergata with honors and a thesis aimed at the study of centenarians, with particular reference to the Calabrian centenarians. She teaches Food Hygiene in Training Courses for the Administration of Food and Beverages.

SILVIA FAIN

Nutritional Biologist

Graduated with a bachelor’s degree in nutritional biology and specialized with a master’s degree in Nutrition and Functional Foods at the University of Camerino. During her education, she joined Erasmus+ project several times both for study at ‘Universidad de Sevilla’ and ‘Agricultural University of Athens’ and for internship at ‘Universidad de Sevilla’.
Driven by her great interest in clinical nutrition and longevity, she currently collaborates with the Valter Longo Foundation as an intern in research and nutrition care projects with the aim of making the latter accessible to all.

Silvia Giannattasio

PhD, Nutritional Biologist Specializing in Food Science

Nutritionist biologist, graduated from the “La Sapienza” University of Rome and PhD in Genetics and Cell Biology at “La Tuscia” University of Viterbo, she subsequently carried out a period as a research fellow focusing her studies on cell metabolism and on cellular patterns of response to antidiabetic drugs in vitro. She holds a master’s degree in Human Nutrition and she is currently post graduate student in Food Science at the “Tor Vergata” University of Rome.
She wrote several scientific papers in sector magazines and online journals in the field of nutrition, she works with the Valter Longo Foundation for nutritional visits, training projects and research.

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