The life and achievements of Sammy Basso

Born in Schio on December 1, 1995, Sammy Basso showed no signs of the disease. After giving birth, in fact, he weighed 2680 g and seemed in excellent condition. But the first manifestations of the progeria did not take long to appear, although it took a long time to diagnose the syndrome: despite the continuous checks carried out on the child, no one suspected the illness from which he was suffering. It was only at the age of 8 that doctors at the Department of Pediatrics at the University Hospital of Padua advised Sammy’s parents to undergo a genetic consultation, which led to the diagnosis. .

The diploma

Sammy graduated with first class honors in Natural Sciences with a specialization in Molecular Biology at the University of Padua in July 2018, presenting a thesis dedicated to the existence of therapies to slow the progression of his own pathology. To raise his profile, he documented his trip to the United States along Route 66, writing a book called Sammy’s Journey, and recording a series of episodes for Sky’s Nat Geo People channel.

Diagnostic

On January 12, 1998, geneticists were able to understand the true cause of Sammy’s symptoms: the child was suffering from progeria, an extremely rare genetic disease, also known as premature aging syndrome. “. At the time, in Italy, the disease was little known, no treatment was available and no research was carried out on it, so much so that even doctors at the Department of Pediatrics in Padua were unable to give the family with instructions on what to do.

The family

Sammy lived with his family in Tezze sul Brenta. Despite the illness, after obtaining his scientific baccalaureate at the St. “J. Da Ponte” Scientific High School in Bassano del Grappa, during the 2014-2015 academic year, he enrolled in the Physics course at the University from Padua and then move on to the Natural Sciences course. His dream, once he finished his studies, was to work at CERN in Geneva. A year later, he also enrolled at the Faculty of Natural Sciences with the aim of furthering, once his studies were completed, research on progeria. On March 23, 2021, he obtained his master’s degree in Molecular Biology at the University of Padua. On June 7, 2019, he received the insignia of Knight of the Order of Merit of the Republic, with which he had been decorated motu proprio by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella.

The foundation

Basso, together with his parents, founded the Italian Progeria Sammy Basso Association, which he witnessed from the age of ten. As highlighted on the website of this same association, Sammy Basso was “known for his numerous television appearances and interviews concerning the activity of the association and his illness” and “became particularly known in Italy after the broadcast of the National Geographic docu-film entitled ‘Sammy’s Journey’, which recounts his journey along Route 66 in the United States, from Chicago to Los Angeles, with his parents and one of his best friends, Riccardo.