A student of biology from 2005 to 2010, Alessandro carried out his research activities at the Bio@SNS Laboratory. "He never accepted the mere knowledge of notions: he preferred to undertake a critical reading before going on to share with us his reflective insights".
PISA, 16th April 2025. In the last few days, the Scuola Normale has learnt with sorrow of the death of its former biology student Alessandro Coatti. An undergraduate student from 2005 to 2010, he carried out his research activities at the Bio@SNS Laboratory under the guidance of Professor Tommaso Pizzorusso, going on to pursue his academic career in England with a master's degree at UCL (University College London). The teaching staff of the Normale remember him as an excellent young man, a good person, who will be remembered for his competence and the great sense of humanity that he transmitted.
His course mates of the undergraduate course at the Scuola Normale have sent us a text testifying to the great sensitivity and human values that distinguished Alessandro; we report the text here below.
Alessandro Coatti is fondly remembered by those who knew him as a student and colleague, but above all a companion and dear friend.
As a bioethics and policy specialist at the Royal Society of Biology (RSB), Alessandro has led scientific work and given evidence in the House of Commons, while supporting the diversity of people that probe the frontiers of research every day, leading (in 2024) the first banner of the Royal Society at the London pride, standing for everyone’s freedom and right to be unapologetically oneself.
During our lectures at University and the SNS, with his manners that might seem shy at times, Alessandro often posed insightful questions and led enthusiastic follow-up discussions. He just wouldn’t accept the mere notions, rather sharing his reflections from deeper critical reading.
For many of us, the memory of Alessandro means the warmth of his smiles, light on his bike across town. Alessandro was a kind person, whose piercing blue eyes marveled in the rich vastness of nature and seeked beauty in every human being. Alessandro loved partying with friends as well as the silences of summerly sunsets by a creek in the countryside. Alessandro was a passionate reader and fluent in multiple languages, as a humanist in the most profound way: he yearned to truly know people and the World, he listened and cared, he fiercely defied prejudice, and would be a ray of sunshine in the day of many hearts.
Alessandro will be immensely missed, we will cherish every moment that we got to spend with such a gentle soul.
