Research and SNSF Starting Grants: Arianna Calcinotto's experience
Institutional Communication Service
Arianna Calcinotto, an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR), is one of five young researchers at Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) and affiliated institutes who will benefit from an SNSF Starting Grants. These grants are intended for young researchers across all disciplines who aim to pursue a career in academia. In an interview featured on the pages of Ticino Scienza, she shared her experiences and insights.
Arianna Calcinotto heads a research group established in 2019 that focuses on the relationship between the immune system and tumours. In 2023, she was awarded an SNSF Starting Grants for a research project aimed at understanding how the bacteria present in the microbiota of the human body can help guide the immune system in combating tumours. As the researcher says, the SNSF Starting Grants for young researchers has a twofold value: "On the one hand, it represents an extraordinary financial opportunity: such generous funding for five years provides stability and breathing space for the research group. On the other hand, it is a prestigious recognition, acting as a seal of quality of our work". After a year of funding, the team was formed. Thanks to the received funds, it became possible to recruit four individuals with diverse skills: "a young PhD student, two postdoctoral researchers, who come from international backgrounds, and a mathematical engineer, who is needed for computational support. After intense initial work to fine-tune the methods, the project is now sailing in the right direction, and we are starting to collect innovative data".
Thinking back to her SNSF Starting Grants application, which took place when the lab was already up and running, Arianna Calcinotto said that "the winning idea does not have a precise moment of birth; it has always been there, like a latent spark". Thanks to the preliminary results obtained during the first experiments, the researcher realised she was on the right track and subsequently refined the project. However, it is not enough to have a good idea to obtain funding: "You are confronted with high-calibre applicants with excellent CVs and outstanding projects, so the differences between the projects, on paper, are minimal," explained Arianna Calcinotto. According to the winner of an SNSF Starting Grants in 2023, the interview (the second stage of project selection) is what makes the difference. "My advice is to concentrate on two key aspects during the interview. First, clearly emphasise the genuine innovation that your project brings, explaining what makes it unique and relevant. Second, articulate why this project specifically needs the SNSF Starting Grants support and why it cannot be realised with any other type of funding."
The full interview with Arianna Calcinotto, published in Ticino Scienza, is available at the following link.
