Four new projects at Università della Svizzera italiana have been selected for the SNSF Spark programme, promoted by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) to support innovative and unconventional ideas in the early stages of development.
The winning projects, involving IRSOL - Istituto ricerche solari Aldo e Cele Daccò, the Faculty of Informatics, and IRT - USI-EOC Translational Research Institute, explore areas of research ranging from cancer immunotherapy to solar physics, cryptography and numerical modelling of solar phenomena.
This year’s SNSF Spark call for proposals was highly competitive, with a success rate of 13% (112 projects funded out of 836 submitted), reflecting the highly selective nature of the initiative, which is dedicated to high-risk research proposals with high innovative potential.
Selected projects:
- Fusobacterium nucleatum as surrogate target for colorectal cancer immunotherapy
Head: Prof. Giandomenica Iezzi, IRT The project studies the possibility of using specific immune responses against the bacterium Fusobacterium nucleatum to target colorectal cancer cells, opening up new prospects for more effective immune therapies.
- Integer factorisation by solving polynomial equations
Head: Dr Alberto Montina , Faculty of Informatics The project explores new methods for integer factorisation through the solution of polynomial equations, with potential implications for computer security and the theoretical understanding of quantum computing.
Towards the first-ever EUV polarimetric solar observation. Theoretical ground for He II 304 sounding rocket experiment
Head: Dr Gioele Janett , IRSOL The research aims to lay the theoretical foundations for the first polarimetric observation of the Sun in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) band, a crucial step towards future space telescopes dedicated to the study of the magnetic fields of the solar corona.
A unified framework for multi-physics simulations of the solar atmosphere
Head:Dr Fabio Riva, IRSOL
The aim is to develop an innovative numerical framework capable of connecting different physical models, allowing for more realistic simulations of the complex dynamics of the solar atmosphere.
A significant achievement in a context of uncertainty
The SNSF Spark programme, launched in 2019, has had a significant impact in promoting the emergence of high-risk scientific ideas with innovative potential. However, following the federal budget cuts announced for 2026, the Swiss National Science Foundation has announced the suspension of the programme until at least 2027, as stated in the official SNSF press release.
