Bellinzona, November 4, 2024 – Researchers at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB, affiliated with USI), were recently awarded important competitive research grants by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).
Andrea Cavalli, head of the Laboratory of computational structural biology, was awarded for the Sinergia project “AntibodyGPT: Language Modeling for fast ex novo Monoclonal Antibody Generation and Evolution“. The study will leverage on recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), in particular protein structure predictions and large language models, to create in silico antibodies with a determined specificity, or to evolve antibodies towards acquiring novel functionalities. This work has the potential to revolutionise antibody discovery for future pandemics and immunotherapy.
The second grant was awarded to Roger Geiger, who leads the Laboratory of systems immunology, for the project “CRISPR screens in human tumour model to identify factors regulating the antitumour activity of dendritic cells“. The project aims to improve our understanding of the genes that regulate the antitumour function of dendritic cells, a key orchestrator of the immune response. The project involves the generation of a novel 3D human tumour model in which induced pluripotent stem cells (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 attack and eradicate the cancer cells. Geiger is furthermore the recipient of a recently awarded ERC consolidator grant, funded by the Swiss Secretariat for Education Research and Innovation, and titled “A high-throughput platform to identify T cell receptor – peptide antigen interactions to train prediction models”.
Finally, Davide Robbiani, IRB director and head of the Laboratory of immunology and infectious disease, was awarded for the translational project “Human antibodies to flavivirus threats”. This is a collaborative study with Daniel Růžek (Co-Principal Investigator) and his team in the Czech Republic. The project aims to lay the groundwork for innovative immune-based interventions against viral infections transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes – a growing global threat, still lacking effective medical countermeasures.
Altogether, these grants will support the activities of 3 postdoctoral trainees, 3 doctoral students, and 1 research technicians.
Photo (from left): Andrea Cavalli, Roger Geiger, Davide Robbiani
