The Fund for Liver Diseases - Fondo per le Malattie del Fegato (founded in 1989) founded the Italian Liver Foundation - Fondazione Italiana Fegato ONLUS (FIF) in 2008. The FIF was the first Italian institution to combine basic research and clinical activity in the field of liver disease. The main purpose of the FIF is promoting translational research to bring the results of molecular research into clinical practice. Furthermore, FIF provides an intensive educational support by hosting many students and researchers from all over the world.
The Italian Liver Foundation finances its activities with institutional funds from its public and private partners and with ad hoc funding for research projects. Currently, the FIF staff is composed of three senior researchers, one administrative secretary, one laboratory technician, six post-doctoral researchers and two graduate students.
The FIF boasts numerous collaborations with research institutions and hospitals at the national and international levels, including the University of Ljubljana; the University of Prague; Fundación Favaloro; Buenos Aires and Centro Binacional de Criobiología Clínica y Aplicada, Rosario (Argentina); Universidad National Autonoma Mexico City (DF Mexico); the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology and Medicine, Jakarta (Indonesia); The Children Mercy Hospital, Kansas City (USA).