The Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Advanced Studies (now LISNU - Laboratorio Interdisciplinare Scienze Naturali e Umanistiche) was founded in 1989 to experiment new links between science and humanities and investigate the various aspects of science and society issues. Since 1993, LISNU has been running a Masters Course in Science Communication, which has formed more than 250 scientific journalists, press officers, museum curators and actors in the field. In 2011 LISNU launched a new Masters course in Scientific Digital Journalism, to create new professionals for the new science media ecosystem based on digital technologies.

Within LISNU, the Innovations in the Communication of Science group (ICS) is one of the few Italian groups focused exclusively on research in science communication. ICS contributes to the production of JCOM - Journal of Science Communication and to the organization of the National Italian Conference on Science Communication.

LISNU has been involved in several European projects, such as SCIRAB (Science in Radio Broadcasting), DOTIK (European Training for Young Scientists and Museums Explainers), GAPP (Gender Awareness Participation Process) and ESConet, the European Science Communication Network focused on original communication training workshops for scientists. LISNU has coordinated the FP7 Health project bid - brains in dialogue, aimed at fostering the dialogue among key stakeholders in neuroscience and raising public engagement. At present LISNU is involved in the Europen project CommHERE. For this project, LISNU will act mainly as national coordinator for Italy, in order to build a network of EU-funded research projects, organize educational activities and initiate a CommNet within the Theme "Health".

Other sectors of the Laboratory are: ATIN, which aims to explore intercultural connections among art, ethics and science; EPIS, focused on the history and philosophy of science; Financial Mathematics.

Moreover, LISNU took part in the organization of FEST, the International Science Media Fair, which was held in Trieste in 2007 and 2008.