Andrea Ballabio. Founder and director from 1994 to 2024 of the Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) in Naples, Italy, he is an international authority in the field of medical genetics. Full Professor of Medical Genetics at the University of Naples Federico II and Visiting Professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, he has dedicated his career to research on rare genetic diseases. His discoveries, including the identification of the TFEB gene, have revolutionized the understanding of cellular mechanisms and opened new avenues for the treatment of neurodegenerative and lysosomal diseases.