The mission of the San Raffaele Scientific Institute (SRSI), part of the San Raffaele del Monte Tabor Foundation, is to conduct innovative research benefiting the care and cure of our patients and to provide state of the art education and training for new generations of doctors and scientists, with a high level of social responsibility.

The San Raffaele Hospital was the first private hospital established in Italy in 1971.
In 1972 it was granted by the Italian Ministry of Health the status of “Research Hospital” (IRCCS: “Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico”), with a main focus on diabetes and metabolic diseases.

In 1992 a new building (about 40.000 sq m) totally dedicated to basic research and education was opened to accommodate the Department of Biotechnology (DIBIT1). The initial areas of research covered by DIBIT1 were genetics, cell biology and immunology while in the late 90’s gene therapy, stem cell biology and molecular mechanisms of diseases were added.

Alongside the Foundation, a private University, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, was established in 1996 and now hosts the Faculties of Medicine, of Psychology and of Philosophy. Furthermore, the teaching activities include, besides a whole range of Schools of Specialization in different medical branches, international Ph.D. programs in Cellular and Molecular Biology and in Molecular Medicine.
SRSI integrates its research with the education and training activities conducted within the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and provides synergies and partnerships with other Institutes and Universities by the activation of specific Agreements.
In recognition of its status as a center of excellence in Molecular Medicine, in 2001 the Italian Ministry of Health granted the SRSI the status of Molecular Medicine Research Institute.

The Molecular Medicine theme has been since the beginning of the ’90s the characterizing element of our Institution. SRSI has consequently made the choice of focussing its research towards the comprehension of molecular processes and towards the clinical applications of molecular biology results. In a word, we have chosen to focus on translational research, with the aim of transferring as efficiently as possible the results obtained in the lab to the patients’ beds.
More specifically, we are steering our research towards several precise areas: the development of innovative therapies based on the molecular control of the mechanisms that regulate gene expression, the discovery and the application of genes, peptides and proteins in human disease, the identification of cell-based therapies with functionally specialised cells, and the application of stem cells in the treatment of genetic and acquired disorders.
Recently, SRSI has made significant investments in high technology research, and more specifically in post-genomic research. This technological effort will have an impact across all pathological and therapeutical areas and is expected to result in growing integration between basic and clinical research and in a strong impulse to translational research.

In 2009, a new construction called University Department of Molecular Medicine (Di.Bi.T. 2) was built nearby Di.Bi.T 1, for an additional area of about 88.000 sq m. As a result of this expansion, the IRCCS San Raffaele Science Park has become the largest in Italy and one of the biggest in Europe.

The Scientific Area of San Raffaele del Monte Tabor Foundation is characterized by a dual responsibility of governance, the Scientific Director and Chief Operating Officer, for the respective areas of competence.
The Research  Divisions and Research Centers,  composed by Research Units and Clinical Research Groups, report to the Scientific Director.
Within this new divisional organization, 3 major research Institutes continue to operate: the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (HSR-TIGET), the Institute for Experimental Neurology (INSPE) and the Diabetes Research Institute (HSR-DRI).
Both public and private funding agencies, either national or international, support our Research.
In 2008, the total number of the scientific publications was 759 including 24 published in the 15 top level scientific journals (I.F. above 15); this has allowed our institution to rank first among Italian IRCCS in terms of scientific productivity.
The competitiveness of the SRSI is also demonstrated by its ability to promote and conduct clinical trials and to generate patents that can be turned into new advanced therapies or new diagnostic tools, also thanks to the support of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Thanks to the effort and enthusiasm of scientists, physicians, students and of all the people working at San Raffaele, the molecular medicine of SRSI will provide, in the immediate future, either new or less invasive diagnostic and therapeutical approaches, ready to be used by patients and to be dispensed by the Italian public health system.