A major DFG research grant transferred to IOR under the "Money Follows Researcher" agreement
Institute of Oncology Research
The Institute of Oncology Research (IOR), affiliated with USI and a member of Bios+, continues to expand its research portfolio through the acquisition of internationally competitive funding. In July 2025, a major grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG) was transferred to the institute following the appointment of Dr. Kévin Perez as Research Associate in the Molecular Oncology Laboratory. The awarded project focuses on identifying and validating existing drugs that may promote healthy aging.
The transfer of the grant was made possible through the German-Austrian-Swiss “Money Follows Researcher” agreement, a trilateral framework that enables publicly funded research grants to follow scientists as they move across national borders. In Switzerland, the project is now administered by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). This mechanism ensures continuity in research activities and supports international scientific mobility.
The awarded project, entitled “Repurposing drugs for healthy aging from human biobanks and validation in animal models”, received funding of CHF 419,650 over a three-year period.
It aims to identify existing drugs that can promote healthy aging by delaying the onset of age-related diseases and functional decline, with the broader goal of improving quality of life in later years.
Dr. Perez, who specializes in aging research, drug repurposing, and multi-omics data integration, has a strong track record and experience in academic, start-up, and industry sectors.
About this grant, he commented: “This project combines computational analysis of large-scale human biobank data with experimental validation in animal models. By focusing on drug repurposing, this project leverages the known safety and availability of existing medications, aiming to accelerate the identification of affordable and accessible interventions for healthy aging.”
We wish Dr. Perez much success in his research!
