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Prof. Giandomenica Iezzi - Testimony H.I.T project - Inclusive Leadership in Academia

H.I.T
H.I.T

Equal Opportunities Service

24 March 2025

USI, through the Equal Opportunities Service, is a partner in the H.I.T project, High Potential University Leaders Identity & Skills Training Programme - Inclusive Leadership in Academia. The programme provides an innovative leadership course, aimed at all ordinary and extraordinary female professors at all cantonal universities and the two federal institutes of technology, to specifically train Swiss female professors and enable them to become university leaders. Participating for USI in the 2025 edition was Giandomenica Iezzi, Adjuct Professor of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences.

Below is an interview with her:

Why did you decide to participate in the programme?

H.I.T is an innovative programme aimed at promoting female academic leadership. I have been working in academia for many years but I had never before been offered the opportunity to receive leadership training specifically designed for women.

When I heard about it, I found the idea very interesting and submitted my application. I am very happy that it was accepted and that USI gave me this opportunity.

What are your goals? What are your expectations?

My goal is to take this opportunity to improve my leadership skills, especially in terms of strategic leadership, so that I am ready to take on positions of greater responsibility within my institution.

I expect that this programme will help me to become more aware of my capabilities and provide me with the means to identify and overcome any personal shortcomings, including by acquiring new methodologies. In addition, I hope to have the opportunity to compare myself with other colleagues active in the biomedical or other fields and to come into contact with top women leaders in Swiss universities who can inspire me as role models.

What advantages do you see in participating in this programme for your career path within your discipline and as a woman?

The academic field is in fact still dominated by a male mentality. Gaining more confidence in my role as a leader and being more aware of the strengths of female leadership can help me in my current job and in tackling potential future positions of greater responsibility. Furthermore, the contact with female colleagues and mentors will be an important resource to draw on for support in case of need and to implement joint initiatives that promote the values of female leadership, which are still not sufficiently recognised in academia.

What was your academic background and what is your area of research and work today?

I trained as a doctor, a specialist in Allergology and Clinical Immunology, in Italy, at the University of Milan. In my professional career I began early on to prefer research to clinical activity, thus acquiring significant experience in translational research, especially in the field of immuno-oncology. In Switzerland, I worked at the Basel Institute for Immunology in Basel, at the ETH Zurich and at the University of Basel where, thanks to a ‘Professorship grant’ from the National Science Foundation in 2011, I started my work as research group leader and Assistant Professor. In 2019, on behalf of the Department of Surgery of the EOC, I founded the Translational Surgical Research Laboratory, which is part of the Translational Research Laboratories of the Cantonal Hospital Authority. Since 2020, I have been Full Professor in the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at USI and a member of the Faculty Council and the Commission for Doctoral Research.

The research of my group focuses on the study of the interactions between the gut microbiota and the immune system and their impact on the development of gastrointestinal diseases, and in particular colorectal cancer.

 

For more information about the H.I.T. 2025 program follow our channels:

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