The Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Superior Health Institute), also ISS, is an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 public institution that, as the leading technical-scientific body of the Italian National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale), performs research

Research

Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

, trial

Trial

A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...

, control

Control

Control is the ability to purposefully direct, or suppress, change.Control can also refer to:-Literature:*Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, "Control" was the head of the Circus, a stand-in for MI-6, in the 1974 British spy novel by John le Carré...

, counseling, documentation

Documentation

Documentation is a term used in several different ways. Generally, documentation refers to the process of providing evidence.Modules of Documentation are Helpful...

 and training

Training

The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...

 for public health. The Institute is under the supervision of the Ministero della Salute (Ministry of Health).

History

The official opening of the ISS, called Istituto di Sanità Pubblica (Institute of Public Health), took place on April 21, 1934.
The construction of the main building in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, designed by architect Giuseppe Amendola, started on July 6, 1931 and it was financed by the American Rockefeller Foundation

Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...

.

In 1941 the Istituto di Sanità Pubblica assumed its present name of Istituto Superiore di Sanità

In 1958 the ISS came under the protection of the Ministry of Health

Ministry of Health

Ministry of Health may refer to:*Ministry of Health *Ministry of Health *Ministry of Health *Ministry of Health...

, from the Ministry of Interior.

ISS Directors (than Presidents)

• Gaetano Basile (1934–1935)
• Dante De Blasi (1935)
• Domenico Marotta (1935–1961)
• Giordano Giacomello (1961–1964)
• Giovan Battista Marini Bettolo Marconi (1964–1972)
• Francesco Pocchiari (1972–1989)
• Vincenzo Longo (1989)
• Francesco Antonio Manzoli (1989–1993)
• Giuseppe Vicari (1993–1995)
• Aurelia Sargentini (1995–1996)
• Giuseppe Benagiano (1996–2001)
• Enrico Garaci (2001-)

Nobel Prize Winners

• Daniel Bovet
  Daniel Bovet
  Daniel Bovet was a Swiss-born Italian pharmacologist who won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of drugs that block the actions of specific neurotransmitters. He is best known for his discovery in 1937 of antihistamines, which block the neurotransmitter histamine and...
  
  
• Ernst Boris Chain
  Ernst Boris Chain
  Sir Ernst Boris Chain was a German-born British biochemist, and a 1945 co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work on penicillin.-Biography:...
  
  
• Enrico Fermi
  Enrico Fermi
  Enrico Fermi was an Italian-born, naturalized American physicist particularly known for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics...
  
  
• Rita Levi Montalcini
• Emilio Segrè

Departments

• Environment and Primary Prevention
• Cell Biology and Neurosciences
• Haematology, Oncology and Molecular Medicine
• Therapeutic Research and Medicines Evaluation
• Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases
• Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety
• Technology and Health

National centres

• National AIDS Centre
• National Centre for Chemical Substances
• National Centre for Epidemiology, Surveillance and Health Promotion
• Centre for Immunobiologicals Research and Evaluation
• National Centre for Rare Diseases
• Evaluation and Accreditation Body
• National Blood Centre
• National Transplant Centre

Technical services

• Service for Biotechnology and Animal Welfare
• Data Management, Documentation, Library and Publishing Activities