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Three Leading House Asia Pacific Grants Strengthen International Research Collaborations
Three projects from the Department have secured funding through the Leading House Asia Pacific programme at the University of Zurich, supporting new collaborations with partners across Australia, Japan, and China. The grants will advance research in regenerative medicine, cancer prognostication, and sustainable biotechnology while strengthening international scientific networks.
One of the funded initiatives, SMART4D, is led by Dr. Valentina Basoli, Head of the Biofabrication and Biosensor Unit at the Swiss MAM Research Group. ishe international network brings together experts from Switzerland, Australia, and Japan to advance adaptive biomaterials and 4D biofabrication technologies for tissue regeneration. Over the next two years, the consortium will promote researcher exchanges, shared methodologies, and interdisciplinary training opportunities.
A second project, led by Dr. Maxime Lafarge of the Computational and Translational Pathology Lab, will primarily focus on improving ovarian cancer prognostication. In collaboration with partners in Australia, Japan and at the University of Zürich, the team will analyze patient tissue samples from all three countries to identify biomarkers that could help predict treatment response and support more personalized approaches to cancer care.
The third grant supports a collaboration between Dr. Olivier Braissant and researchers at Tongji University in China. The project investigates plant-derived exosomes—naturally occurring nanoparticles with potential applications in the cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and food sectors. Working alongside an emerging Chinese startup developing exosome-based products, the partners aim to improve production methods and characterization techniques, helping to advance safer and more sustainable plant-based alternatives for future applications.
Beyond their scientific objectives, the three projects will foster researcher mobility, facilitate knowledge exchange, and lay the groundwork for future large-scale international funding initiatives.
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