39th Cycle

Aras Bradosty has a strong background in health governance, medical education, and media engagement. He holds an MBChB from Hawler Medical University (2011) and has completed advanced courses in clinical neurophysiology and brain physiology at Tufts University and Uppsala University. Fluent in English, Kurdish, and Arabic, he has been involved in numerous health-related leadership roles.

Since 2018, he has served as the President of the Kurdistan Health Summit (KHS), where he leads initiatives to address public health gaps in the region by collaborating with stakeholders from academia, healthcare, and government. His responsibilities include strategic planning, health agenda-setting, and supervising organizational operations. He also directs the Health Desk at Rudaw Media Network and hosts a popular TV show providing health advice to the public.

Previously, he founded the Antitobacco Campaign, which supported over 38,000 smokers across Iraq and neighboring countries in quitting smoking, and the Fast Care project, which delivered healthcare during the COVID-19 lockdown to 38,000 people.

He has received several awards, including Doctor of the Year in Kurdistan (2016, 2018) and the 2023 Stevie Award for his contributions to health media. His work reflects a commitment to improving health governance and policy in Kurdistan and Iraq.

I completed my academic training at the University of Pavia, earning my Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology in 2020 and subsequently my Master's degree in Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology in February 2023, presenting an experimental thesis entitled: "Development of an artificial intelligence software for the selection of oocytes competent for embryonic development." This experience was a significant opportunity that sparked my interest in the world of scientific research. After my Master's degree, I worked for 10 months at a pharmaceutical company, and from February to September 2024, I won a Research Grant at the University of Pavia, which allowed me to participate in various projects. In October 2024, I began my PhD in Public Health and Lifestyle within the Department of Public Health, Experimental Medicine, and Forensic Medicine at the same university.

During my academic journey, I primarily focused on developmental biology, particularly studying gametogenesis and female infertility. Specifically, I investigated various parameters potentially useful for the early and non-invasive selection of female gametes competent for embryonic development. Additionally, I dedicated myself to studies related to the isolation, characterization, and differentiation of stem cells derived from biological waste fluids.

My PhD project aims to analyze the influence that the accumulation of polystyrene, one of the polymers we are most exposed to, has on male and female reproductive processes, a growing concern in the field of public health.

My educational path began at the University of Eastern Piedmont, where I obtained my Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences, and continued at the University of Pavia, where I earned my Master's degree in Experimental and Applied Biology, specializing in Molecular Biomedical Sciences.

From April 2021 to April 2023, I completed my thesis internship at the Clinical Dietetics and Nutrition Laboratory of the University of Pavia, where I was introduced to the fields of epidemiological research and clinical nutrition.

Subsequently, starting in October 2023, I had the opportunity to delve into research topics related to Public Health and Lifestyle, with a focus on Biodiversity, thanks to a Research Grant funded by the National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC) at the Clinical Dietetics and Nutrition Laboratory.

In the past year, I have worked on the research projects LIMIT (Lifestyle and Microbiome Interaction Early Adiposity Rebound in Children) and MATER (woMen And maTernity: development of a nutritional Education project), which target populations within the “first 1000 days” age range and during the pregnancy and breastfeeding phases, with particular attention to childhood obesity. Additionally, I have been involved in the EXPOSITION (EXPosome, Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in persons with multiple sclerosis) research project, which focuses on studying Multiple Sclerosis through an exposomic approach.

Since January 2024, I have been attending the Level II Master's program in Clinical Dietetics and Nutrition at the University of Pavia, and in October 2024, I began my PhD course in Public Health and Lifestyle at the same university.

I obtained my Master's degree in Sciences and Techniques of Preventive and Adapted Physical Activity with full marks in July 2024 from the University of Pavia, with a thesis focused on type 1 diabetes and physical exercise entitled “Training Camp for Adults with Type 1 Diabetes: Reducing Sedentary Levels and Improving Therapy Management through Accurate Physical Fitness Perception and Individualized Exercise Prescription.” My passion for adapted training has grown over the years, thanks to the experience I gained at the Adapted Physical Activity Laboratory (LAMA), which allowed me to work with individuals affected by various conditions, with a particular focus on type 1 diabetes. I acquired knowledge in the field of adapted training by working with children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes, Down syndrome, and obesity, which led to my Bachelor's thesis: a cross-sectional analysis on pediatric obesity. Additionally, I have worked with adults with type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

During my academic journey, I attended a Level I Master's program in School Physical Education and a Specialization Course in Adapted Physical Education for Students with Disabilities, developing specific skills, including the adaptation of physical exercise to improve health and well-being in developmental ages.

Through the PhD program “Public Health and Lifestyle,” I have the opportunity to contribute to research in the field of adapted physical activity using multidisciplinary and innovative approaches in the field of exercise for health and type 1 diabetes.

I hold a Master's degree in Biology (LM-6) and I am currently attending the third year of specialization in Health Statistics and Biometry. Since 2019, I have been conducting research in the cardiovascular field at the IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation in Pavia, as part of the RESTART (Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation Research Team).

One of the main research lines of the group focuses on the epidemiology of cardiac arrest. The IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation hosts the Extra-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Registry of the Lombardy Region (Lombardia CARe).

In the past year, I have shifted my research interest towards the analysis of geo-referenced data and the general use of geography and GIS in public health.

This led me, in August 2024, to attend the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, where I learned the basics of creating maps using R.

My doctoral project aims to explore the relationship between the physical and socio-demographic characteristics of an area and the subsequent management of emergency response in cases of cardiac arrest.

My name is Margherita Zeduri, and I am a medical doctor graduated in 2021 at the University of Pavia. During my university studies, I developed a deep interest in prevention and public health issues. For this reason, in my final year, I attended the Institute of Hygiene, where I carried out a thesis project on the impact of the COVID-19 emergency on family relationships and the mental health of the elderly population, resulting in a scientific publication.

After graduation, I began my medical specialization course in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine at the University of Pavia. Throughout the years, I developed further research projects related to healthcare management and prevention, with a particular focus on screenings and smoking cessation.

During my specialization, I also completed a six-month training period at the Institute for Study, Prevention, and Oncology Network (ISPRO) in Florence, where I gained valuable knowledge about the organization, execution, and effectiveness of screening programs, as well as additional tools for promoting health in the population. This was followed by an internship at the Prevention Organizational Unit of the Lombardy Region Welfare Directorate, which allowed me to develop a broader perspective on preventive initiatives within the Regional Health Service. Finally, from July 2024, I have been attending the Simple Screening Structure of the Health Protection Agency (ATS) of Bergamo, aiming to implement new operational skills in the field of secondary prevention, which is the focus of my research project.