7 Questions with Alessandro Adelfio

Today we are getting to know Nuritas™ Bioinformatician, Alessandro Adelfio. Originally from Palermo, Italy, Alessandro is an integral part of our bioinformatics team here at Nuritas™ and is also a talented writer. Check out his fascinating blog post on new developments in the field of artificial intelligence here.

Team Member: Alessandro Adelfio

Position at Nuritas™: Bioinformatician

What inspired you to become a Bioinformatician?

I have always been passionate about Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning in particular. As soon as I discovered that AI techniques could be used to enhance our understanding of life and unlock some of its mysteries the die was already cast.

What do you think is the best scientific innovation? ?

It might sound commonplace, but I would definitely say the World Wide Web and Internet in general. I can not see many things able to impact science as much as the opportunity of instantly sharing ideas and knowledge and easily accessing them from all around the world.

Who is your favourite scientist and why?

I have many “science heroes”. One of them is definitely Claude Shannon, the father of Information Theory and one of the pioneers of artificial learning. Among the anti-heroes, my favourite is the mathematician Grigori Perelman. When he was awarded the Field Medal (the mathematician’s Nobel Prize) he declined to accept the prize and he is quoted to have said: “[the prize] was completely irrelevant for me. Everybody understood that if the proof is correct, then no other recognition is needed. I’m not interested in money or fame, I don’t want to be on display like an animal in a zoo. I’m not a hero of mathematics.”

What interests you the most right now in the health and/or food arena?

Uhm, many things actually. Let’s just say that I completely embrace Nuritas’ mission: discovering new ingredients in natural and sustainable sources that are able to target the most common diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, obesity and many others.

What do you like most about working at Nuritas™?

Nuritas™ gave me the chance to work in the area I like the most and pursue one of the highest goals a person could work for: improving the health, and therefore the life, of millions of people. This makes it truly exciting to follow the development path of an ingredient: from the discovery, through the experimental validation, the clinical trials and finally to the commercialization.

We are also a vibrant group where everyone has a unique talent and uses their talent to help the group reach common targets.

If you could be a peptide which peptide would you be and what disease would you target?

This is an easy one. I would be a peptide that allows you to eat all the food you want (and when I say food I mean especially pizza) and keeps you healthy and in perfect shape. I don’t think that one exists but it’s a nice fantasy nonetheless.

Any last comments?

I just would like to quote one of my favourite dialogues from a TV series:

Ross: […] They took my backpack which had all the original artwork I had done for my own comic book: “Science Boy”
Monica: Oh yeah! What was his superpower again?
Ross: A superhuman thirst for knowledge.
Monica: That’s it.