About
The SMILE Lab was established in 2010 with the primary aim of improving care and quality of life for infants and young children with disabilities within their family context through an evidence based and family centred approach.
The SMILE lab is housed within the Infant Neurology Section of the IRCCS Stella Maris Scientific Institute.
Our excellence in the combined efforts of clinical care and research have been made possible through the infrastructural organisation and our national and international funders and collaborations.
Our Mission
The main aim of the SMILE is to perform research on novel strategies for the early assessment and intervention in infants with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Our research activity focuses on the understanding of the modalities by which infants are able to process their physical and social environment. We study the effect of the environment and family involvement into daily activities of the infants on brain neuroplastic reorganisation, both in typical development and in pathological conditions. This includes, but is not limited to Cerebral Palsy and related disorders (such as Cerebral Visual Impairment, epilepsy and others).
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Through this knowledge, we aim to develop and test new, evidence based, therapeutic strategies in infants with early brain damage or other neurodevelopmental disabilities.
Our Funders
We are grateful for the support of our funders that help us in our Mission. Our facility and infrastructure are supported through the IRCCS Stella Maris Scientific Institute and the Italian Ministry of Health.
Our track record of innovation through collaboration in multisite research has earned us a national and international standing within the field of early detection and family centred intervention for infants at risk for Neurodevelopmental Disabilities. We are thankful for grants success with funding bodies such as The Italian Ministry of Health, European Commission, Cerebral Palsy Alliance, American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine,
Fondazione Pierfranco e Luisa Mariani, La Fondation Motrice, and others.
