A young medical student from the University of Genoa has been nominated Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by President Sergio Mattarella “for the commitment, the passion, the enthusiasm in making people aware of donating to the research and treatment of cystic fibrosis”. Her name is Miriam Colombo, she is 21 years old, she is originally from Varese, lives in Ospedaletti and studies in Genoa. She is testimonial of the Italian Cystic Fibrosis League.
This is the complete reasoning of the honour, published on the Quirinale website: “Miriam has cystic fibrosis. In addition to taking care of himself and living with a serious pathology, studying profitably in high school, despite continuous hospitalizations (156 days in 2016 alone), he passed the entrance test for Medicine at the University of Genoa with brilliant marks, where he attends the second year. She finds the time to devote to fundraising on social media and in the various events for non-profit organizations linked to her illness, raising thousands of euros every year and often involving the schools she attended. ‘When people ask me how I do it, I answer that it’s simply passion that drives me to keep fighting. Willpower, wanting is power, in short, let’s call it whatever we like… that’s all. If I am what I am, it is above all thanks to cystic fibrosis, which I consider to be my greatest added value’. She devotes much of her life to raising funds for research.”
The awards ceremony will take place at the Palazzo del Quirinale on 24 March 2023 at 11.30. The president of the Liguria Region Giovanni Toti congratulated: “In 2021 she was our testimonial at the Salone Orientamenti and today even more she is an example of tenacity and courage, not only for young people but for all of us. Well done Miriam, Liguria is proud of you”.