Antonietta Morena Gatti is a physicist and bioengineer. She obtained her degree in physics from the University of Bologna, Italy, along with a 3-year specialization in bioengineering. She is the founder and director of the Laboratory of Biomaterials of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy, and the founder and president of the Association of Health, Law and Science, Geneva, Switzerland. Dr Gatti has an interdisciplinary background ranging from physics and chemistry to biology, physiology, and pathology. She has 30 years of experience in biomaterials and biocompatibility research at national and international levels. She discovered the presence of micro- and nanoparticles in biological tissues and their pathological effects. She invented the word “nanopathology” and developed a new nanoparticle-based diagnostic tool for making clinical diagnosis of pathologies such as like leukaemia, cryoglobulinaemia and cancer. Currently, she is working on syndromes such as aerotoxicity and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) using scanning electron microscopy. She has written 260 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 3 books and 7 chapters and is a reviewer for some international journals.
Stefano Montanari is a pharmacist by education (University of Modena) and, since 1972, has constantly been active in inventing, planning or improving devices for surgical and medical practice, particularly in the areas of cardiovascular surgery and cardiology. In 1979, he married Dr Gatti, and a mutual scientific collaboration was started in the fields of biomaterial research and nanopathology. He has invented both removable and non-removable caval filters, the polyurethane prosthetic heart valve, a pleural drainage device, electrophysiology equipment, the trans-oesophageal catheter for heart pacing and detection, a device to measure hourly urine production and a urine bag with a device to prevent bladder infection. Since 2005, Dr Montanari is a scientific consultant to the Osservatorio Militare Italiano for diseases due to depleted uranium. He has authored or co-authored numerous scientific articles and books and is a lecturer for master courses on nanopathology.
