LUGANO - For Giovanni Pedrazzini, the next one will be a special Christmas.From 23 December, the Locarno doctor will be head of cardiology at Cardiocentro Ticino.Born at the La Carità hospital on 10 October 1960, Pedrazzini will therefore take over the role that for many years was of his teacher, Professor Tiziano Moccetti.After graduating in medicine from the CHUV in Lausanne in 1985, he specialized in internal medicine, first at the Charity and then at the Inselspital in Bern.After a short period in Locarno, he returned to Bern as head of the clinic to devote himself to cardiology.After completing his specialty, he underwent further training in interventional cardiology first at Inselspital and later at the University Hospital of Zurich.In 2012 he obtained the “Venia Legendi”, the prestigious academic certificate that gives the doctor the faculty to teach and independently conduct research projects.Six years later he was elected president of the Swiss Society of Cardiology, the first Ticino person to fill this role.Since 2017 he has been part of the group of doctors called to create the new Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of the Università della Svizzera italiana, of which he will be dean from next January.Professor Pedrazzini, let's imagine that although you are already a co-parent, and that you are among the doctors who laid the foundations of the Ospedale del Cuore twenty years ago, taking up the baton from the Prof is an important challenge ...“Of course it is, very important!But more for the Cardiocentro than for me, because it takes place at a delicate moment: the integration into the Cantonal Hospital.I talked about it at length with Prof, and we both agree on a fundamental point: that this rotation will have to mark a relaunch of the Cardiocentro and confirm its role as an institute of international value.The next few months will have to serve to restore serenity at every level, making sure that all collaborators can express themselves to their fullest potential.In these 20 years we have built a lot, we have created a team of the highest level, which now will have to give the best of itself, because by entering the Hospital we will have to turn immediately at maximum speed.Here, I believe that the challenges that this change imposes on us will be these ".In what way do you imagine that his management will differ from that of Tiziano Moccetti?“We all know that the Prof is unique, and he has been in these over twenty years, from the summer of '99, when the Cardiocentro was inaugurated, until today.Unique in the way he created, managed and developed the institute.The aim, therefore, for me and for all those who are part of the team, is not to emulate it, but to consolidate what has been acquired over many years to project the Cardiocentro into the future ”.In short, team play will be fundamental.Right?"Absolutely yes, more than it has been until now, and for my part I will try to nourish this spirit, focusing on clear and well-defined strategies and tactics, and on very high goals, which allow us to continue to compete in cardiology and of cardiac surgery at national and international level.With the goal that has always been the basis of the philosophy of the Prof: not to be second to none ".And recently a very high quality graft has arrived in the Cardiocentro team, a true champion ...“I guess you are referring to Professor Marco Valgimigli: of course, he is a well-known figure worldwide, an“ opinion leader ”in the field of coronary therapies and antiplatelet therapies, with an almost frightening list of publications.He agreed to come to Ticino not only for personal reasons but also to contribute to the relaunch of the Cardiocentro in the areas where we can improve our firepower.I am thinking, for example, of clinical research and the possibility of establishing ourselves as a reference and coordination center for a series of international studies ”.Aren't you afraid that incorporation into the hospital will reduce the margins of autonomy of the Cardiocentro in terms of strategic choices and research?“Look, I think that relations with the organization will have to be built along the way.On the other hand, I also believe that the EOC has an interest in having a structure that knows how to express itself at the highest levels and that knows how to produce highly qualified research.Surely the institution has its own dynamics, which in some respects are different from ours.But I am convinced that if we continue with clear ideas and know how to keep ourselves at the forefront of clinical activity and research, we will have everything to gain in letting us work without excessive limitations.On this point I am quite confident, also because the hospital itself, in collaboration with USI, is rethinking the role of clinical research and promoting institutes that already know how to practice it at a high level.In this sense, I believe our goals are aligned.Indeed, I am sure of it ”.