Both the messenger and the message
“It’s important to know the stories of the people behind the discoveries,” Fantuzzi said. “And it’s important to know how research is done — the thinking process, how they became interested in a particular topic, what kind of path they followed.”
A native of Italy, Fantuzzi’s own background includes biology, neuroimmunology, endocrinology and infectious diseases. Her research concerns the molecules involved in the regulation of obesity and inflammation, particularly in diseases like acute pancreatitis.
Her cross-disciplinary focus “is not easy to classify, which I like,” she said.
“Body Messages” is written for readers interested in science and its history, Fantuzzi explained. The book opens with a perspective on philosopher Marshall McLuhan, who famously said, “The medium is the message.”
“McLuhan’s concepts apply to these molecules because they are both the medium and the message,” Fantuzzi said. “They are the carriers of information and the information itself.”