Shedding light on the disease: Roma Tor Vergata lights up for World Diabetes Day 2025

ROME, Nov. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Thanks to the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Roma Tor Vergata, the University Rectorate building will be lit up from 10 to 18 November to raise awareness and prevent diabetes.

14 November marks World Diabetes Day, established in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). This date was chosen because it is the birthday of Frederick Banting, who, together with his student Charles Best, discovered insulin, changing the history of this disease. Diabetes mellitus is the first pandemic recognised by the UN without a transmissible agent.

The University of Roma Tor Vergata is joining the global awareness campaign to raise awareness and understanding of diabetes and highlight the importance of prevention and early diagnosis. The façade of the Rectorate is illuminated with the official logo of World Diabetes Day, a blue circle, a symbolic gesture organised by Davide Lauro, Professor of Endocrinology, together with Marco Re, engineer, Professor of Digital Electronics and delegate of the Rector for the planning and management of the activities of the University Multimedia Centre, and Dr Aikaterini Andreadi, researcher in Endocrinology.

"The lighting of the Rectorate," explains Lauro, "symbolically represents our University's commitment, not only to research, diagnosis and treatment, but also to promoting social awareness among the population, which is essential for implementing intervention and prevention strategies that can have a real impact on the spread of the epidemic." "Raising awareness among young people and the community," concludes the Professor, "is essential, because many people do not know they are at risk for diabetes, and many others have the disease without being diagnosed. Knowledge is the first step towards prevention."

Davide Lauro studies endocrine-metabolic diseases, with a particular interest in diabetes mellitus and type 2 diabetes mellitus. He has also participated in several international clinical trials for the study of new innovative therapies for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. One of the main objectives of his research is to identify new potential biomarkers for diabetes.

Diabetes mellitus was the second disease, after HIV/AIDS, to be recognised with an official world day by the UN, which, together with the WHO, proposes strategies to improve human health, develop national policies and encourage global efforts to combat diabetes. In collaboration with the International Diabetes Federation, they highlight the global impact of diabetes mellitus and strategies to promote access to care. According to 2020 estimates, approximately 6% of the population, over 3.5 million people, in Italy have diabetes mellitus, and the number is set to increase exponentially in the near future. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure leading to dialysis, and non-traumatic amputation of the lower limbs.