Confirmed the positive results at the National Fund

In the first of the two annual rounds of the Swiss National Science Foundation, the projects submitted by USI achieved the positive success rate of almost 60%.  

This positive outcome can be attributed mainly to the biomedical area. The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) and the Institute of Oncology Medicine (IOR) have carried out five research projects, ranging from the differentiation of antibodies (Antonio Lanzavecchia), to immune response (Santiago Fernandez Gonzalez), from genome stability (Petr Cejka), to the pathogenic potential of Lymphocyte (Silvia Monticelli), to innovative prostate cancer treatments (Andrea Alimonti).

Three projects were supported in this round in the area of communication sciences: the first is on the impact of smartphones on teenagers (Anne-Linda Camerini), the second on identity and migration (Jolanta Drzewiecka), and the third on the automated monitoring of regulations and agreements on digital resources (Nicoletta Fornara). In the field of economics, a research project on price-formation in stock markets (Francesco Franzoni) was also funded. In the field of computer sciences, two projects were awarded, on the quality of the code created in crowdsourcing (Gabriele Bavota) and on a new analysis approach on scalable systems (Fernando Pedone). Worth mentioning is also the project of the Istituto Ricerche Solari Locarno (associated with USI), which will focus on the magnetic sensitivity of chromospheric lines of the sun (Luca Belluzzi)

Together, the 12 projects are financed with CHF 6.5 million.