MONTALCINO. Everything is ready for the “Casato Prime Donne Award 2026”. The scientist Sandra Misale, along with journalists Francesca Ciancio and Andrea Cuomo, and 13 young talents will be the protagonists the morning after tomorrow (Saturday) at the Teatro degli Astrusi, in the homeland of Brunello.
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The Award
The Award, organized by the Casato Prime Donne winery, the first with an entirely female staff, led by Donatella Cinelli Colombini with her daughter Violante Gardini Cinelli Colombini, will be given to one of the leading scientists in cancer research: Sandra Misale.
Born in Palmi, Calabria, 41 years old, Misale is now leading a laboratory bearing her name at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The 2026 theme of the Casato Prime Donne Award “The dream and/is reality” becomes lived experience with Sandra Misale, active in some of the world’s major cancer research centers: Harvard Medical School in Boston, the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. She is now at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore where she has a laboratory named after her, the Misale Lab.
The project
From the beginning, she focused on a project that seemed impossible: blocking mutations of the Kras gene that drive tumor cells to reproduce and metastasize. It seemed a choice destined to ruin her career, because until 13 years ago no one had succeeded in targeting KRAS mutations present in about 30% of human tumors and specifically in the most aggressive ones: pancreas, lung, colon. But discoveries and results came quickly and now the new drugs, developed with her contribution, double the life expectancy of pancreatic cancer patients. “My work together with my team has brought to light fundamental aspects of how these new drugs work, to the point of changing clinical studies,” explains Sandra Misale, “our work has made it possible to understand how to make these new therapies work better and longer.”
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The other awards
Alongside her, two journalists who have distinguished themselves in promoting Montalcino and its wines with the active participation of the Brunello Consortium will be awarded: Francesca Ciancio and Andrea Cuomo.
The Casato Prime Donne Award also includes an incubator for young talents, born immediately after Covid with the aim of giving a “boost” towards professional affirmation and enhancing those who can grow by inspiring others. There are four students from the Lambruschini Language High School and the Ricasoli Agricultural Institute of Montalcino, a painter from the Duccio di Buoninsegna Art High School of Siena, four goldsmiths from the LAO Le Arti Orafe Jewellery School of Florence, the pastry chef from the Tessieri Advanced Training School, and three students born and residing in Tuscany, who attended the 2026 courses of the Chigiana-Mozarteum Baroque Program.
Young people who carry out their training in very different centers, although equally focused on excellence. They show how personal growth always passes through passion and sacrifice in a continuous attempt to improve themselves.