The research department of the IIT dedicated to the discovery of new medicines. My name is Daniele Piomelli and I am the department scientific director. With my colleagues, a group of talented researchers coming from both industry and academia, I believe that a steady flow of safe and effective new drugs is important to keep our world healthy and productive. The last twenty years have witnessed great advances in medical science, yet many diseases still plague our communities and remain both ill-treated and poorly understood.