Grazia Ietto-Gillies | Economics | Best Researcher Award

Prof. Grazia Ietto-Gillies | Economics | Best Researcher Award

London South Bank University | United Kingdom

Grazia Ietto-Gillies is an Italian-born economist and emerita Professor of Applied Economics at London South Bank University, also serving as a Research Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London. She studied in Rome at the Istituto Leonardo da Vinci and then at La Sapienza University under the supervision of Bruno de Finetti, followed by a year of graduate studies at MIT (1966–67) funded by a CNR scholarship. Early in her career she worked as a researcher at ISCO in Rome and then at the University of Siena before moving to London in 1971, where she joined London South Bank Polytechnic (now University). Her research spans investment in the Italian economy, de-industrialization in the UK, transnational corporations (TNCs), innovation, absorptive capacity, indices of transnationality, labor fragmentation (e.g., in FIAT), and the digital economy. She has published extensively, including books, journal articles, working papers, and book chapters; her major book Transnational Corporations and International Production (Edward Elgar) is widely cited. According to her RePEc/CitEc profile, she has an h-index of 11 with around 800 citations and over 47 research documents. She has received recognition as a leading figure in applied economics, especially in globalisation and innovation policy. In addition to her academic work, since retirement she has written literary pieces, including a memoir of her Calabrian childhood and essays. Her long and influential career bridges rigorous economic analysis and personal reflection, highlighting both her intellectual and human depth.

Profiles: Scopus | Google Scholar

Featured Publications

Filippetti, A., Frenz, M., & Ietto-Gillies, G. (2011). Are innovation and internationalization related? An analysis of European countries. Industry and Innovation.

Filippetti, A., Frenz, M., & Ietto-Gillies, G. (2017). The impact of internationalization on innovation at countries’ level: The role of absorptive capacity. Cambridge Journal of Economic.

Frenz, M., Girardone, C., & Ietto-Gillies, G. (2005). Multinationality matters in innovation: The case of the UK financial services. Industry & Innovation.

Ietto-Gillies, G. (2009). Conceptual issues behind the assessment of the degree of internationalization. Transnational Corporations.

Chesnais, F., Ietto-Gillies, G., & Simonetti, R. (2003). European integration and global corporate strategies. Routledge.

Vera Pavese | Plant Breeding | Best Researcher Award

Dr. Vera Pavese | Plant Breeding | Best Researcher Award

Università di Torino | Italy

Dr. Vera Pavese is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Turin, Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA), Italy. She earned her PhD in Agricultural, Forest, and Food Sciences in 2022 under the supervision of Prof. Roberto Botta, following her Master’s in Plant Biotechnology (2017) and Bachelor’s in Natural Sciences (2015) from the same institution. Her research focuses on developing biotechnological tools to enhance the resilience of woody crops, integrating in vitro culture, CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, LED-based priming, and RNA-based gene silencing (SIGS). She has pioneered transgene-free genome editing systems and demonstrated the biostimulant potential of LEDs in woody plant micropropagation. Dr. Pavese has authored 24 peer-reviewed papers, accumulating 237 citations and an h-index of 10. Her achievements have earned her four national Best Oral Presentation Awards, invitations as a keynote speaker at international symposia, and recognition as Session Chair at major conferences. A recipient of the RILO Young Researchers Grant (2024), she actively promotes Open Science and serves as Guest Editor for Plants and Agronomy. Her work advances sustainable crop improvement and genetic innovation, positioning her as a rising leader in woody plant biotechnology and genome engineering.

Profiles: Scopus | Google Scholar | Orcid

Featured Publications

Marino, L. A., Ruffa, P., Mozzanini, E., Patono, D. L., Sereno, A., & Pavese, V. (2025). LEDs in plant tissue culture: Boosting micropropagation of Castanea sativa cultivars. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation.

Marino, L. A., Pavese, V., Ruffa, P., Ferrero, M., Acquadro, A., Barchi, L., Botta, R., & Torello Marinoni, D. (2024). Guardians of quality: Advancing Castanea sativa traceability using DNA analysis from seed to processed food. Scientia Horticulturae.

Pavese, V., Moglia, A., Acquadro, A., Barchi, L., Portis, E., Torello Marinoni, D., Valentini, N., Milani, A. M., Abbà, S., Silvestri, C., et al. (2023). Development of biotechnological tools for hazelnut breeding. Acta Horticulturae.

Ferrucci, A., Lupo, M., Turco, S., Pavese, V., Torello Marinoni, D., Botta, R., Cristofori, V., Mazzaglia, A., & Silvestri, C. (2023). A roadmap of tissue culture and biotechnology in European hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.). Plant Physiology and Biochemistry.

Nerva, L., Dalla Costa, L., Ciacciulli, A., Sabbadini, S., Pavese, V., Dondini, L., Vendramin, E., Caboni, E., Perrone, I., Moglia, A., et al. (2023). The role of Italy in the use of advanced plant genomic techniques on fruit trees: State of the art and future perspectives. International Journal of Molecular Sciences.