A young researcher from USI among the winners of the IBSA Foundation Fellowship 2023

Viola Moscarda, a young Slovenian researcher at the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR) affiliated with Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), has been selected as one of the winners of the eleventh edition of the Fellowships sponsored by the IBSA Foundation for scientific research in the field of Healthy Aging. Her project aims to mitigate the side effects caused by chemotherapy to facilitate healthy cellular ageing. The study will be conducted in the IOR Molecular Oncology Laboratory, which has already developed and patented advanced technologies to support research in this area.

Since its launch in 2012, the Fellowship programme promoted by the IBSA Foundation has already financed 52 fellowships worth over 1.5 million euros dedicated to young researchers under 40 working in universities, hospitals, or research centres.

Awarding the six scholarships for the 2023 edition during the prize-giving ceremony that took place today are Christian Wolfrum, Vice President for Research at ETH Zurich and Silvia Misiti, Director of the IBSA Foundation for scientific research, who commented - "Enhancing talent by investing in new generations of researchers is among the activities in support of scientific research promoted by our Foundation. This initiative has been incredibly rewarding over the years. We understand the challenges young graduates face in pursuing research careers, and we aim for our Fellowship project to help fulfil the aspirations of many future scientists. The continued interest in this programme from young researchers worldwide confirms that we are moving in the right direction."

Applications for the 2023 call have been accepted in five scientific areas - dermatology, endocrinology, fertility/urology, pain medicine/orthopaedics/rheumatology, and the special category dedicated to Healthy Aging and Regenerative Medicine.

Below are all the Fellowship 2023 recipients:

- Viola Moscarda, Molecular Oncology Laboratory, Institute of Oncology Research (IOR), Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) (Switzerland), University of Verona and Verona University Hospital Trust, Verona, (Italy)

Project title: Reversing the clock: targeting chemotherapy induced senescence with CAR-T cells for healthy aging.

- Katharina Wöss, Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, (Spain)

Project title: Exploring systemic interactions between skin inflammatory disorders and cancer susceptibility.

- Cintia Folgueira Cobos, Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research Carlos III (CNIC), Madrid, (Spain)

Project title: Exploring new insights into brown adipose tissue mitochondria for protection against endocrine disorders.

- Elias Rafael Ruiz Morales, Wellcome Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge, (UK)

Project title: In vivo responses to malaria infection in the human placenta at single nuclei resolution.

- Helna Mary Baby, Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, (USA)

Project title: Cartilage Targeted Delivery of IL-1Ra in-situ Circular RNA using Cationic-Peptide-Engineered Exosomes for Disease-Modification and Pain Relief in Osteoarthritis.

- Maria Angela De Stefano, Azienda Ospedaliera Università Federico II (AOU), Naples, (Italy)

Project title: The intracellular control of Thyroid hormone signaling in the metabolic and extrinsic control of muscle stem cell plasticity and muscle regeneration.

Building on the success of the past editions, the IBSA Foundation for scientific research announces today the opening of the new call for the 2024 edition of the Fellowship Programme, confirming its commitment to independent research. As in 2023, the new edition will be open to projects in five areas: dermatology, endocrinology, fertility/urology, pain medicine/orthopaedics/rheumatology and Healthy Aging/Regenerative Medicine, which, due to the great interest shown, will become a permanent category. The sixth scholarship will be awarded to the scientific area with the most applications.

Applicants wishing to submit their project can send their proposals by 31 January 2025 via the dedicated platform.