Obituary : Prof. Federico Piccoli, MD, 1939-2019.

Abstract

Federico Piccoli was a bright Neurochemist, an expert Neurologist, and a gifted teacher. These three characteristics of his professional career were strictly intermingled, and each was always present in his daily work. Following the steps of his Mentor, Prof. Vincenzo Bonavita, he dedicated much effort to encourage his students to spend a significant period of their education in his Neurochemistry Laboratory, working on the same bench, side by side, with basic researchers. He was used to say to his students: whatever will be your professional career, by dealing with the basic neurobiological questions and by learning the rigorous methodological steps of an experiment, you will be able to solve even the more complex clinical questions. He emphasized the importance of the scientific method. All his work and teaching activity drew inspiration from giants, as Augusto Murri, Karl Popper, and John C Eccles. Prof. Piccoli always opposed the concept of “school”, where the teacher imposes specific trajectories in the medical formation. This is not surprising, as he was profoundly influenced, as young neuropsychiatrist and researcher, by the wind of the sixty-eight of the past century, where for the first time the rigid structure of teaching and education was subverted. And yet, he was always along with his students and collaborators, encouraging discussions and highlighting controversies either on the methodological and theoretical pathways to perform an experiment in the laboratory or to make a diagnostic work-up in the clinic. Moreover, as neuro-psychiatrist, he fueled the debate on the relationship between psychiatry and neurology, supporting the view that the two disciplines should not be separated, as they share a common biological ground. Federico Piccoli (picture), who died in June this year, was born in Bologna in 1939. He took his high school bachelor in Milan 1958 and graduated inMedicine and Surgery in 1965 in Rome. After a short experience in microbiology at the National Health Institute, he was attracted by the renowned Neurochemis t ry Labora to ry in the Ins t i t u t e o f Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Palermo, at that time under the direction of Prof. Vincenzo Bonavita. There, he made a terrific experience on the biochemistry of neuronal excitability and on the role of nucleotides in the nervous system. Then, he moved to United States (from 1968 to 1970), where he worked in the Laboratory of the New York Research Institute for Neurochemistry and Drug Addiction under the supervision of Dr. Abel Lajtha. The strong experience made in the United States allowed him to take over the Laboratory of Neurochemistry in Palermo and to create a strong research group, which included experienced researchers and young students. The following years were highly productive, with many publications on the putative role of uridine and lysine as neurotransmitters, and the neurotoxic contribution to neurodegenerative process. On the same time, he was extremely active as clinician and teacher, with many clinical publications over the years. In his maturity, he became Director of The Neurology Unit at the University Hospital “P Giaccone” in Palermo, and founded the first ALS Clinical Research Center in Sicily. Furthermore, his life-long interest in cognitive decline and dementia allowed him the creation of a strong clinical and research group, which inspired and formed many expert researchers and clinicians in this field. He was Director of the Residency Program in Neurology, position that he maintained almost until the retirement. He tutored personally all residents, and he organized countless seminars, national and meetings. In the last period of his professional life, he directed the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Palermo. * Vincenzo La Bella [email protected]