Fondazione Cariplo Young Researchers 2024: Three UniSR Research Projects Funded

At the heart of Fondazione Cariplo’s mission lies the support of young researchers. A total of 41 projects have been selected across the natural, human, and social sciences, with an overall funding of 8 million euros dedicated to fostering the careers of young researchers and enabling them to pursue independent and competitive research.

Among the 19 researchers awarded in the "Life Sciences category", three researchers from UniSR have received funding under the “Young Researchers” call:

• Giovanni Peretto, Cardiologist and Electrophysiologist at the Cardiac Electrophysiology and Arrhythmology Unit, with the project “Sex-Related Differences in Interleukin-1β as a Modulator of Arrhythmogenesis in Myocarditis.
• Daniele De Ritis, researcher at the Mitochondrial Dysfunctions in Neurodegeneration Unit, with the project “Developing a Miniaturized Sacsin Protein for Gene Therapy Preclinical Trial in Autosomal Recessive Spastic Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS).”
• Mariateresa Pettinato, researcher at the Regulation of Iron Metabolism Unit, with the project “It Takes Two to Tango: Targeting the BMP-SMAD Pathway to Improve MASLD-MASH and the Associated Sarcopenia.”

The call “Young Researchers – Supporting PhD Holders in the Early Stages of Their Career” is a two-phase initiative aligned with Fondazione Cariplo’s strategic objective “Scientific Research: Supporting Multidisciplinary Research for Individual Well-Being and the Socio-Economic Development of Communities.”

With this initiative, Fondazione Cariplo aims to support PhD holders during the initial stages of their research careers. The program targets those who earned their doctorate within the past two years and is designed to foster research projects that enhance the researcher’s profile through the development of their own research identity.

Thanks to the Foundation’s support, researchers will have the opportunity to develop an independent project, collect preliminary data relevant to their study, and advance methodologies, conceptual frameworks, tools, or innovative techniques. The design of the research is encouraged to involve cross-disciplinary contamination—blending different areas, methodologies, or approaches—which is essential for advancing scientific progress and addressing the complex challenges of today’s society.