The Swiss National Science Foundation funds nine research projects presented by USI

In the second round of annual funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), researchers at Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) received positive responses for nine proposals. These projects encompass various disciplines at the university.

The Swiss National Science Foundation funds the top projects that are submitted for evaluation during the two annual deadlines in April and October. With nine projects being awarded in this round, USI confirms the high quality and competitiveness of its research at the national level. The variety of funded projects showcases the liveliness and diversity of the research areas within USI's Faculties and affiliated institutes.

The projects received a total of just over CHF 6 million in funding.

For the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society, support was given to the project by Professor Michael Gibbert, Institute of Marketing and Corporate Management (IMCA) "Mutatis mutandis: How do Analytical Moves to (un)silence context influence article citation and policy impact of case studies in management and organisational research?'" which focuses on the study of how scholars consider context, defined as the set of relevant circumstances in which a phenomenon takes place, in management and organisational studies (MOS).

Within the same Faculty, support was given to the project by Professor Jolanta Drzewiecka, Institute of Argumentation, Linguistics and Semiotics (IALS), "Relational integration in place: affect and power in everyday practices", which, starting from the observation of the Ticino context, aims to demonstrate how relational integration is a mundane, multidirectional and diffuse process that takes place through everyday practices and social relations.

For the Faculty of Informatics, the project by Professor Michele Lanza, Software Institute (SI), "FORCE - eXtended RealitySoftware Engineering", was funded, which aims to develop a comprehensive extended reality software engineering methodology, complemented by appropriate tool support. This methodology encompasses the entire software lifecycle, i.e., design, development, maintenance and comprehension.

Also, within the Faculty of Informatics, the SNSF decided to fund the project of the Aldo and Cele Daccò Solar Research Institute (IRSOL) - affiliated to USI - led by Professor Luca Belluzzi, entitled, "Forward modelling and inversion of spectropolarimetric observations in strong chromospheric lines", which focuses on the study of the magnetic fields present in a particular layer of the Sun's atmosphere, the chromosphere. To achieve this ambitious goal, innovative diagnostic methods based on theoretical and numerical modelling of the polarisation of light from the Sun will be developed and applied.

Five projects of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences received support from the SNSF, for a total of around CHF 3,400,000. The first is the one by Professor Vittorio Limongelli, Euler Institute (EUL), "Learning the activation mechanism in G protein coupled receptors from free energy calculations", which aims to improve our understanding of receptor functionality by characterising receptor functional states during activation, understanding the effects of ligands on receptor states and examining receptor interactions with effector proteins.

Also within the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), affiliated to USI, received two grants.

The first was awarded to Professor Davide Robbiani for the project "Human antibodies to flavivirus threats",  lay the groundwork for future investigations aimed at developing specific immune-based interventions against flavivirus - a growing global threat - addressing a critical unmet medical need.

The second grant was awarded to Professor Roger Geiger for the project "CRISPR screens in human tumour model to identify factors regulating the antitumour activity of dendritic cells", which aims to improve understanding of the genes regulating the antitumour functions of dendritic cells. To do this, the project involves the creation of a 3D human tumour model in which iPSC-derived dendritic cells are activated within the nucleus of growing tumoroids, take up tumour antigen and present it to primary T cells, which then eradicate tumours.

The Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC) have also received support from the SNSF for two projects, obtaining total funding of CHF 1,250,000.

The first project is that of Professor Simone Bersini, "A high-throughput microphysiological platform to analyse the role of the ageing human vasculature in melanoma metastases". The funded project deals with the "biofabrication" of microscale models of the blood brain barrier through miniaturised systems called "organ-on-a-chip". Using human vascular cells, the project will allow to build 3D models of the brain capillaries to understand how their ageing signature represents a preferential route for the formation of melanoma metastases. This project will impact the development of novel therapies for the treatment of tumours targeting the brain.

The second project funded is that of Professor Lucio Barile, "Targeting an Antisense lncRNA of the Desmoplakin Gene for Treating Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy in Human Cellular Model". This is a bilateral research project with Dr Marzia De Bortoli from the Eurac Research Institute in Bolzano. The aim is to develop new therapies for Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy, a hereditary disease that causes the replacement of heart tissue with fibrous and adipose material, increasing the risk of arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. The project uses advanced technologies, including pluripotent cells and engineered tissues, to study the disease and develop new therapeutic approaches. The University of Padua and the University of Ghent are also collaborating.