Celebrating 25 Years of the IRB: a retrospective by President Gendotti and Director Robbiani

The Institute for Research in Biomedicine recently celebrated 25 years of activity. To mark the occasion, Gabriele Gendotti, President of the IRB and Bios+ Foundation Board, and Davide Robbiani, Director of the IRB, reviewed the Institute's achievements in several local media outlets (see links on the side) and looked ahead to future goals.

The first headquarters of the IRB, affiliated with Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) since 2010, was inaugurated on 28 September 2000. At that time, the institute had 20 employees and four research groups.

As Gabriele Gendotti noted, the creation of the IRB was "a very ambitious act of courage in a region, Ticino, where research activities were still not very widespread." The President of the IRB expresses pride in the institute's steady growth over the years.

Over the years, the IRB has expanded to include more than 160 employees and thirteen research groups, establishing a presence beyond Switzerland. To date, it has published over 960 scientific articles, awarded 135 doctorates to young researchers, and registered 46 patents. Additionally, the IRB has formed several key collaborations, such as with the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR), which led to the creation of the Bios+ association in 2021. Another significant partnership is with the Translational Research Laboratories of the Cantonal Hospital Organisation (EOC), which, together with USI, established the Institute for Translational Research (IRT) in July 2025. These synergies, as Gabriele Gendotti pointed out, are a fundamental prerequisite for the development of the IRB and, in general, for enabling high-quality research in Ticino: "Maximising opportunities for synergies and collaborations is essential for a small canton like ours. High-quality scientific research is conducted on an international scale in a highly competitive environment. To remain appealing to ambitious young researchers, we must have adequate critical mass, infrastructure, and resources that meet the highest standards. This is crucial for fostering growth and success in our research community. I must say that in Ticino, we are on the right track. The collaborations between IRB, IOR, Bios+, the hospitals and laboratories of EOC, USI, SUPSI and even some private clinics are intense and focused on achieving common and shared goals. The preparatory work to obtain an NCCR (National Centre of Competence for Research) and become a research centre of national importance recognised by the Confederation has demonstrated in practice that there is an increasing desire and scope for joint projects.

Despite some difficulties encountered along the way, Gendotti says he is pleased with how politics has supported the IRB in its first 25 years of activity: "In general, over the last quarter of a century, the IRB has enjoyed significant political support with contributions from the Confederation, the Canton and, in particular, the City. I believe that this has been a significant investment for Bellinzona, bringing prestige, creating jobs, and introducing a refreshing influx of young students and doctoral candidates from around the world."

However, the capital of Ticino aims to increase its role in research further: there are many projects on the table, including the aforementioned NCCR in the field of ageing and related diseases and the construction of a guesthouse to accommodate students and doctoral candidates from Bellinzona's institutes. Looking to the future, the hope remains to be able to build a university hospital: "USI, alongside its Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and affiliated institutes, along with the canton and its healthcare system represented by the EOC, must aim to establish a university hospital in the medium term. However, we should recognise that this will be a significant and challenging undertaking. The issue is not with the location; rather, the challenge lies in adapting traditional university hospital models from institutions like those in Bern, Zurich, or Basel. We need to develop a unique model tailored to our specific strengths and regional realities," commented Gendotti.

According to Davide Robbiani, the way to build a university hospital in Ticino could be through collaboration: "Ticino may not be as large as the major Swiss centres, but when considering the possibility of establishing a university hospital, we can concentrate on a few strategic areas where clinical excellence is combined with high-level scientific expertise in complementary fields. I am thinking, for example, of collaborations with USI and SUPSI in the field of artificial intelligence and with the Bellinzona Institutes for Life Sciences. While some initiatives are already in place, they need to be strengthened. We must have the courage to think creatively and prioritise quality."

The collaborations initiated by the IRB are not limited to Ticino. As Davide Robbiani explains, there is an important partnership with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich: "ETHZ is an important point of reference for us, and we have initiated numerous collaborations over the years. Among these, the most ambitious project concerns the creation of a national centre of expertise dedicated to the study of ageing (NCCR Ageing). We are also strengthening ties through joint doctorates and dual professorships between USI and ETHZ."

However, the synergies go far beyond national borders and involve universities of excellence such as Rockefeller University in New York and Humanitas University in Milan. The aim is to continue attracting international talent, while also encouraging Swiss and Ticino nationals to return to Ticino, as Director Davide Robbiani and the young Gea Cereghetti have done. After completing her studies at ETH Zurich and the University of Cambridge in England, Cereghetti will become the Laboratory Director at the IRB in June 2026. "One of our challenges is to attract talent," said the IRB Director, "as it is one of the essential ingredients for conducting internationally competitive research. I would say that so far we have been successful in attracting or retaining talent in Ticino, which is no easy challenge given the high level of competition."

Funding is another critical issue for the growth of the IRB. In this regard, the Institute will seek to "raise philanthropic funds more efficiently" as well as obtain funds from licensed patents, i.e. "discoveries that enable the development of solutions for human health", and from research funding bodies, explained the Institute's President.

But in short, what has the IRB been doing over the past 25 years? "From the outset, the Institute's mission was clear: to conduct research for the benefit of human health," the Director explained. "A mission that has been pursued with a particular emphasis on immunology: cells and molecules that represent our personal army, defending us from viruses and bacteria. They can also recognise and destroy cancer cells. The immune system also plays a role in other biological processes, such as ageing. From the outset, the Institute has also developed research in the field of epidemic diseases." In this regard, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRB contributed to the achievement of major international milestones.

The work carried out at the IRB has an impact on the daily lives of every one of us, as Davide Robbiani explains: "Our mission is to advance knowledge; we study to understand how the body works when it is healthy, but also when it is ill. The immune system is closely linked to our health, and understanding how it works is the first step towards finding a cure."