Stem Cells and Cancer (Baggiolini) | website
Molecular Oncology (Alimonti) | website
Lymphoma Genomics (Bertoni) | website
Experimental Therapeutics (Catapano) | website
Experimental Hematology (Rossi) | website
Cancer Immunotherapy (Calcinotto) | website
Functional Cancer Genomics (Theurillat) | website
Prostate Cancer Biology (Carbone) | websiteStem Cells and Cancer (Baggiolini) | websiteMolecular Oncology (Alimonti) | website
Born in Verscio, in 1942, he is Professor (full professor) of medical oncology at the Faculty of Medicine in Bern, Switzerland.
In 1978 he created the Cantonal Oncology Service in Tessin which in 1999 became the Institute of Oncology of Southern Switzerland (IOSI) in Bellinzona, Canton Tessin (Switzerland), an institute which encompasses medical oncology, radio-oncology, nuclear medicine, palliative care, haematology and an important research division and of which he was scientific director of oncology until 2017.
Franco Cavalli has an international reputation for the treatment and research of malignant lymphoma and new drugs.
In 1981 he organized in Lugano the first edition of the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML). Until 2011 it was held every three years, starting in 2011 once every two years. It has become the most important congress worldwide on malignant lymphoma.
In 1990 he was the founder and chief editor until the year 2000 of Annals of Oncology, the leading European journal of medical oncology.
In 1996 he founded the International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group (IELSG), which now comprises more than 200 institutions on 4 continents. IELSG is the leading cooperative group in the field of biological and clinical studies regarding extranodal lymphomas.
He has also been very active in the field of clinical evaluation of new anticancer drugs. The quality of his work has been recognised with 24 national and international awards, including the Petzcoller Award for his special dedication to oncology and the ESMO Lifetime Achievement Award.
He is an honorary professor at the Universities of Tianjin (China), Biskek (Kyrgyzstan), Managua (Nicaragua) and Havana (Cuba). He has published more than 600 articles in peer-reviewed journals and contributed to numerous books on cancer, including the Textbook of Medical Oncology, along with Stanley Kaye (London), Heine H. Hansen (Copenhagen) and James O. Armitage (Omaha, Nebraska) He is on the editorial board of several other journals.
Franco Cavalli was President of the Swiss Cancer League and is Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the European School of Oncology (ESO) and of the World Oncology Forum (WOF). He was President of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) between 2006 and 2008. Since 2015, he has been a member of the WHO Committee for the selection of essential medicines for cancer.
He is currently president of the Foundation for the Institute of Oncology Research, based in Bellinzona, which manages the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR), the International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group (IELSG) and the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML).
Between 1995 and 2007 he was a member of the Swiss Parliament.
Born in Mendrisio, on July 14, 1938. He was Head of internal medicine at the Mendrisio Regional Hospital, cardiology at the Civic Hospital of Lugano and full professor (now emeritus) at the University of Bern. He has devoted himself with great commitment to the fight against cancer.
He was president of the Swiss Cancer League (1989-1992) and at the same time a member of the Board of Trustees of the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC) in Lausanne. In 1996 he founded the Administrative Centre of the Swiss Cancer Organizations (Haus der Krebsliga) in Bern. He contributed to the creation of various institutions involved in the fight against cancer: in 1991 the Swiss Cancer Research Foundation, which he chaired until 2006; in 1999 the Oncosuisse Association, which he chaired until 2006; in 2007 the National Institute for Cancer Registration and Epidemiology (NICER), based at the University of Zurich, which he chaired until 2018.
From 2001 to 2012 he chaired the Swiss Bridge Foundation, which raises funds for cancer research. He is vice-president of the Ticino Foundation for Cancer Research (Lugano, since 1984), of the Foundation for the European School of Oncology (Bellinzona, since 1990) and of the Foundation for the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR), associated with the Faculty of Biomedicine of the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). In 1997 he participated in the foundation of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) in Bellinzona, associated with the Faculty of Biomedicine of the Università della Svizzera Italiana, and chaired it until 2012.
He was a member of the Gran Consiglio ticinese from 1975 to 1989: he chaired the Commission for Hospital Law, for which he was a speaker at the Parliament, which gave rise to the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale in December 1982.
Author of numerous scientific publications. He is an honorary member of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences. For his activities in the field of cancer, he was awarded the Swiss Award in 2007 and received the Medal of the Swiss Cancer League in 2011.
Since 1999 he has been Vice-President and member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Research and Treatment of Lymphomas in Ticino, now the Foundation for the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR).
Born 15 February 1960; graduated in law from the University of Geneva and qualified as a lawyer in 1986;
Delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross between 1986 and 1988, he took part in missions in Pakistan and Lebanon where he worked on the application of the Geneva Conventions to civilians and prisoners of war.
On his return to Ticino, he worked for the State at the Appeals Service of the Consiglio di Stato, then as Head of the Office of oversight of the guardianships.
He was appointed Public Prosecutor in 2001 and, since 2009, Deputy Attorney General of Canton of Ticino.
After leaving the judiciary at the end of 2010, he was elected to the Gran Consiglio in April 2011 (until 2013) and in the same year he founded his own Law Firm in Bellinzona.
Mayor of Bellinzona since 2012.
Since 2021 he has been a member of the Foundation Board of the Foundation for the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR).
Born in Nesslau (SG) in 1952
Compulsory and secondary schools
Medical studies
Medical and Academic Career
Promotions/Diplomas
Actual National Functions
Important Memberships
Relevant Research Awards 1995: Robert Wenner Preis für Krebsforschung (CHF 150,000.)
Since 2020 he has been a member of the Foundation Board of the Foundation for the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR)
Compulsory and secondary school in Ticino.
Medical studies in Lausanne, postgraduate training in Ticino, Zurich, Bern, Basel, Manchester and Frankfurt.
Medical degree in 1985, doctorate in 1988, specialisation in internal medicine in 1993, specialisation in haemato-oncology in 1995.
Title of Privat Dozent at the University of Bern in 2001, title of Honorary Professor at the University of Bern in 2007.
Since 01.07.2007 Head of medical oncology at IOSI (Institute of Oncology of Southern Switzerland). Since 01.07.2011 health director of IOSI (Institute of Oncology of Southern Switzerland).
From 2001 to 2006 he was President of the Lymphoma Group at SAKK (Swiss Group for Clinical Research against Cancer), and was also President of several national and international studies in the field of lymphomas. For 15 years he was Director of the IOSI Stem Cell Transplantation Programme.
Member of the SAKK scientific committee, he was for years a member of the editorial board of "Annals of Oncology" and of the "editorial board" of Journal of Clinical Oncology. He has served as chairman of the ESMO Publishing Working Group, the ESMO Website working group and as chairman of the ESMO Educational Committee.
Since 1999 he has been a member of the Foundation Board of the Foundation for the Research and Treatment of Lymphomas in Ticino, now the Foundation for the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR).
Since 2019 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation.
Born in Niederdorf in 1965, she graduated in medicine at the University of Basel in 1990, where she received her doctorate in 1992. After working as an assistant physician at Thurgauisch-Schaffausch-Höhenklinik in Davos, she became an associate researcher in the department of inflammatory/autoimmune diseases at Hoffmann-La Roche in the United States. Active at Claraspital and Kantonsspital in Basel, she moved to the cantonal hospital of St. Gallen, where she obtained her specialization in internal medicine.
From 1998 to 2000 she stayed in the United States, working as a researcher at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. She then returned to the St. Gallen Cantonal Hospital, where she was head of the oncology/hematology department; there she obtained her specialization in medical oncology and was appointed head of service.
In 2006, she was awarded the qualification of Free Lecturer (PD) in Medical Oncology by the University of Bern, which in 2011 awarded her the title of Full Professor. Since 2018, her main activity has been in the field of teaching and research. She is a professor at the British University of Manchester in the Cancer Science Division, responsible for research into systemic therapy of genito-urological cancers, mentors and provides post-graduate training.
As far as research is concerned, she has published about 150 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has received considerable recognition for her research projects. She is considered a key opinion leader internationally in the field of prostate cancer and malignant genito-urinary diseases. She is a member of the main scientific committees and of the major associations of her speciality at national and international level. She is often called upon to speak at major international symposia.
Since 2019 she has been a member of the Foundation Board of the Foundation for the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR).
Born in Prague in 1957, she emigrated with her parents to Switzerland in 1968.
She finished compulsory schooling and obtained a commercial diploma in Thun.
Between 1976 and 1978 she was employed as a secretary at the Department of Oncology, Inselspital Bern, under Prof. K. Brunner.
Between 1978 and 1980 she was employed as a secretary at the cantonal cancer service in Bellinzona.
Between 1978 and 1984 she was the special secretary to Professor F. Cavalli, president of the SAKK (Swiss Group for Clinical Research Against Cancer).
In 1981 she organized the first International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML) in Lugano, organizing the conference successively every 3 years until 2005.
From 1981 to 2010 she was scientific secretary of Prof. F. Cavalli for special tasks.
Since 1999 she has been the secretary of the Foundation for Research and Treatment of Lymphomas in Ticino, now the Foundation for the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR).
Prof. Pietro Majno-Hurst was born on 22 April 1960 in Milan, Italy, where he graduated in medicine in 1986.
After training in general surgery in the UK (FRCS England), he joined the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) in 1992.
In 1996/1997 he specialised in liver surgery and liver transplantation in Paris. He was a member of the adult and paediatric transplantation and liver surgery team at the University Hospital of Geneva, where he became Head of the Multidisciplinary Centre for the treatment of Hepato-biliary-pancreatic diseases. Since 2018 he is Full Professor of Surgery at the Medical Master School of the University of Southern Switzerland and Head of the department of Surgery at the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale.
He is the author of more than 200 articles published in leading medical journals, including The Lancet, Lancet Oncology, Hepatology, Journal of Hepatology, Annals of Surgery and British Journal of Surgery.
He has received awards from the Swiss Society of Surgery and the Swiss Transplant Society.
Ticinese by adoption (his father was taken in as a refugee in 1943), he is double Italian and Swiss Citizen. He is committed to environmental and social issues that he considers inextricably linked to health.
Since 2022 he has been a member of the Foundation Board of the Foundation for the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR).
Born on 29 April 1966 in Iragna, he graduated from the ETH Zurich in 1990 (Ing. agr. ETH).
After working for three years for a Dutch company in the young plants sector, he took over the management of the Cantonal Fruit and Vegetable Cooperative in 1993.
In 2002 he became Sales and Marketing Director of Rapelli SA and was promoted to CEO in 2012.
In 2015 he joined the extended management of the Orior food group and in the same year he became President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CC-TI) of the Canton Ticino: this completed his curriculum with a broad view of the Ticino economic landscape.
In 2021 he was nominated Director of the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale.
Since 2022 he is active with various foundations in the field of oncology.
In all these years, he has gained particular experience in managing small and large teams and been able to deepen his knowledge of resource management, marketing studies and targeted communication. The topics of process optimisation, supply chain excellence and management by objectives also played a very special role.
Since 2022 he has been a member of the Foundation Board of the Foundation for the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR).
Born in St. Gallen in 1976, Florian Marxer graduated from high school in Feldkirch (Austria) in 1995. He studied law at the Universities of Innsbruck (Mag. iur. 2002), Strasbourg (Erasmus 1997/98), Yale (LL.M. 2005), Vaduz (specialisation course in Liechtenstein in company law 2006) and Zurich (Dr. iur. 2007). He has been admitted to advocacy in New York (since 2006) and Liechtenstein (since 2010) and is the author of several books and articles on Liechtenstein law. Florian Marxer is a partner in the law firm Marxer & Partner Rechtsanwälte (Vaduz) and a member of the board of directors of various companies and foundations, including Belvédère Asset Management AG (Glarus) and Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (Vaduz).
Since 2016 he has been a member of the Foundation Board of the Foundation for Research and Treatment of Lymphomas in Ticino, now the Foundation for the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR).
Since 2019 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation.
Born in Saignelégier (Ct. Jura) in 1964, Alba Masullo graduated from high school in Lugano 1 in 1985, then - after a few years of university studies in medicine then abandoned - the Diploma in Psychology at the University of Lausanne in 2000 and the Master in Medical Humanities at the University of Insubria in Varese in 2004.
She worked in a reception centre for refugees of Caritas and several years in the field of human resources management at the employment offices, then 7 years as a consultant in professional integration of people with health damage at the office of invalidity insurance of the ct. Ticino. From 2003 to 2005 she was project manager for the implementation of the professional assessment centre for disability insurance in Gerra Piano.
Since 2005, she has been the director of the Ticino Cancer League and, in this capacity, a member of various working groups and commissions within the Swiss Cancer League and the cantonal administration, as well as a member of several Foundations and Societies linked to the research and/or care of people suffering from cancer and their families.
Since 2008, she has been a member of the Foundation Board of the Foundation for Research and Treatment of Lymphomas in Ticino, now the Foundation for the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR).
Born in Capriasca in 1960, Elena Maria Pandolfi, after a first long working experience in business management as a managing director, obtained her doctorate in Italian linguistics at the University of Bern.
For over a decade she has been active in the Division of Culture and University Studies in research programmes in the linguistic-cultural field, gaining experience in the management of interdisciplinary projects at cantonal and federal level.
Since 2019 she has been a member of the Foundation Board of the Foundation for the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR).
Born on 4.8.1960, Giovanni Zuercher obtained the Federal Certificate of Commerce in 1979, and after some language and professional internships abroad, in 1986 he obtained the AIBD (ICMA, International Capital Market Association) diploma in Montreux. In the same year he joined the Paribas group, performing various tasks in the field of Investment Banking and later in asset management, becoming first responsible for the Italian market and then Southern Europe for the whole group. In 2001, with the merger between BNP and PARIBAS, he was appointed to the general management of the new bank. Giovanni also served for several years as director of the PARVEST investment fund in Luxembourg. In 2005, with a number of partners, he founded Pentagram wealth management based in Lugano and Geneva and currently holds the position of CEO and member of the board of directors. In addition to the IOR Foundation, he is also a member of the board of some charitable foundations.
Since 1999 he has been the Treasurer and member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for the Research and Treatment of Lymphomas in Ticino, now the Foundation for the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR).