PhD Programmes at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences

Doctoral students in conversation: the future of cardiovascular research in Ascona

The Cardiovascular Retreat, co-organised by the Doctoral School in Biomedicine at Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) and several other Swiss universities, aimed to promote exchange and collaboration in cardiovascular research among doctoral students across Switzerland.

BioMed PhD Day 2024 - between research and mobility

The sixth USI BioMed PhD Day took place on Friday, 18 October, at the East Campus Lugano. 65 PhD students from 20 countries enrolled in one of the 8 specialisations offered by the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences participated in the day's rich programme.

Equal Opportunities Award 2024

Antonio Landi, PhD assistant in Biomedicine, is awarded the 2024 USI Equal Opportunities Prize for scientific contributions on equality and diversity issues. The Equal Opportunities Award - now in its 7th edition - is aimed at stimulating interest and promoting the commitment of USI's student body and intermediate body to address the issues of equality, diversity and inclusion, intended in all possible dimensions. A special mention is also awarded to Dr Leandro Guedes Soares, PhD in Informatics.

First retreat of PhD students in Cardiovascular Science

Last Friday the first joint retreat of PhD students in Cardiovascular Science from the Universities of Bern, Lausanne, and Università della Svizzera italiana was held in Bern. PhD students from the USI Faculty of Biomedical Sciences had the opportunity to share their research experiences with peers from other Swiss universities, establishing a significant network in the cardiovascular field.

Research Day in Medicine, accolades to an USI PhD student

The 12th Research and Innovation Day in Human Medicine of Southern Switzerland, an event organised by the Clinical Trial Unit (CTU) EOC, the Area Formazione medica e Ricerca (AFRi) EOC and Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), took place on 8 September. During the day, USI Faculty of Biomedical Sciences PhD student Azucena Rendón Ángel was awarded the prize for the best presentation in basic, translational or computational research, while Sarah Jacober, a Master of Medicine student at USI, received the prize for the best presentation in clinical and epidemiological research.

Aliper Therapeutics, a spinoff of the IOR, wins the Boldbrain Startup Challenge

The national jury of the fifth edition of the Boldbrain Startup Challenge awarded first prize to Aliper Therapeutics, a spin-off of the USI-affiliated Institute of Oncology Research (IOR) in Bellinzona. We talked about it with Nicolò Pernigoni, postdoc at the IOR.

BioMed PhD Day 2022

The fourth BioMed PhD Day was held on 7 October. A day when PhD students from the USI Faculty of Biomedical Sciences have the unique opportunity to present their projects to the public, get together, get to know each other, and share their ideas. This year's event was again held on USI East Campus and was attended by some 60 PhD students from 15 different countries enrolled in one of the seven doctoral specialisations in Biomedical Sciences: immunology, oncology, neuroscience, cardiovascular science, pharmacological science, public health and computational biomedicine.

BioMed PhD Day, together for a future of research in biomedicine

At the second BioMed PhD Day of the USI Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, which took place on October 9, doctoral students were given the opportunity to present their projects to the public, but also to meet, get to know each other and share ideas. This year the event was hosted on the new East Campus, and was attended by around thirty PhD students (more than twice as many as in 2019) from 10 different countries and enrolled in one of six doctoral specialisations in Biomedical Sciences: immunology, oncology, neuroscience, cardiovascular science, drug science and public health.

New perspectives in early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease "made in Ticino"

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has published, on August 12, the results of a research project conducted jointly by Cardiocentro Ticino and the EOC Neurocentro, which delivers a message of hope in the fight against Parkinson's disease, as well as providing encouraging news for the USI Faculty of Biomedical Sciences. The study focuses on the analysis of blood plasma microvesicles (exosomes), which could allow the disease to be detected at a very early stage, favouring more effective therapeutic approaches. The new method, non-invasive and economical, requires a simple blood sample.

The research was made possible by a close collaboration between the laboratories of the Neurocentro of the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC) and Cardiocentro Ticino - both of which are directly involved in the training activities of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). The research project is the subject of the thesis work of Elena Vacchi, PhD student in Neuroscience at USI, and Jacopo Burrello, visiting PhD student at the University of Turin at Cardiocentro.

DNA damage and neurodegenerative diseases: a talk with Claudia Magrin and Martina Sola

Claudia Magrin and Martina Sola are two researchers in neuroscience and PhD students at USI. They both work at the Laboratory for biomedical neurosciences of the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, in the research group led by Dr. Paolo Paganetti. They are currently working on a study on the relationship between Tau and P53 proteins in response to DNA damage, published in Communications Biology, one of Nature's scientific journals. to celebrate this important milestone we turned to the two researchers to find out more about their path and their studies in the laboratory.

Young USI researchers on stage at the first Ph.D Biomed Day

They are 16, determined and ready to dive into the exciting world of research: the first Ph.D students from the new USI Faculty of Biomedical Sciences presented themselves on Friday 20 September at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) in Bellinzona, during a public meeting (the "Ph.D Biomed Day") in which the coordinator of the USI doctoral programmes in biomedicine, Prof. Alain Kälin, also took part. The young doctoral candidates are engaged in five subject areas: immunology and cell biology; cancer biology and oncology; neurosciences; cardiovascular sciences; and drug sciences.