To support scientific research on rare genetic diseases in a direct way, in December 2021 we launched the first 3-year Multiround Call for research projects.
The call was divided into 4 evaluation rounds and designed to facilitate researchers in planning their research path. With four evaluation opportunities in three years, researchers could choose the most appropriate moment to submit their proposal. If a project was not considered eligible for funding, applicants had the chance to take reviewers’ feedback into account and resubmit in a subsequent round.
Another key feature of the call is its division into two separate tracks according to the stage of development: basic research and preclinical “proof of concept” (PoC) projects aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of therapeutic strategies. This encourages researchers to focus on a well-defined stage of research and ensures a fairer evaluation by comparing projects at the same stage of development.
Following the success of the first edition, a new Multiround Call has been launched in collaboration with the Fondazione Regionale per la Ricerca Biomedica of Regione Lombardia. Opened on February 10, 2025, this edition foresees three new funding rounds until 2028.
At a glance (2021-2024)
The Scientific committee
Projects are evaluated by an international scientific committee whose members serve for a maximum of 4 years. Currently, the committee evaluating the Multi-round call consists of the following scientists:
- Beverly Davidson (CHAIR), PhD, Professor of Patology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Raymond G. Perelman Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)
- Thomas Rando (VICE CHAIR), MD, PhD, Director and Professor in Neurology at the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center (Los Angeles, California, USA)
- Ahad Rahim, PhD, Professor of Translational Neuroscience, Wellcome Chair and Head of the Research Department of Pharmacology at the University College London (London, UK)
- Albert La Spada, MD, PhD, Professor of Pathology at the University of California Irvine (Irvine, California, USA)
- Alysson Muotri, PhD, Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Cellular & Molecular Medicine at the University of California San Diego (San Diego, California, USA)
- Ambra Pozzi, PhD, Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at the Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee, USA)
- Angeliki Louvi, PhD, Professor of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience, and Deputy Director MD-PhD Program at Yale, School of Medicine (New Heaven, Connecticut, USA)
- Barry London, MD, PhD, Professor of Internal Medicine-Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa, USA)
- Bradley Olwin, PhD, Professor Molecular cellular and developmental biology at the University of Colorado Boulder (Boulder, Colorado, USA)
- Carlos Moraes, PhD, Professor of Neurology, Cell Biology and Anatomy at the Miami Miller School of Medicine (Miami, Florida, USA)
- Diane Merry, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Vice Chair, Faculty Development and Engagement at the Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)
- Fabio Candotti, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Lausanne (Lausanne, Canton of Vaud, CH)
- Gonzalo Sanchez Duffhues, PhD, Group leader & "Ramon y Cajal" fellow at the Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology Research Center CINN (Oviedo, Asturias, ES)
- Hans van Bokhoven, PhD, Professor Molecular Neurogenetics at Rabdoud University (Nijmegen, Gelderland, NL)
- Holger Lerche, MD, PhD, Clinical Director and Head of the Department of Neurology and Epileptology at the Hertie Institute of Clinical Brain Research at the University of Tübingen (Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, DE)
- Jacques Michaud, PhD, Director of the Centre de recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine and Professor of Pediatrics and Neurosciences at the University of Montreal (Montreal, Québec, CA)
- Jeffrey Chamberlain, PhD, Professor of Neurology and Medical Genetics at the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Washington and McCaw Chair in Muscular Dystrophy (Seattle, Washington, USA)
- Jeffrey Dilworth, PhD, Professor, Cell and Regenerative Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, Wisconsin, USA)
- Lucia Notterpek, PhD, Professor/Senior Associate Dean Research, Physiology and Cell Biology at the University of Nevada Reno (Reno, Nevada, USA)
- Mauro Giacca, MD, PhD, Professor of Cardiovascular Sciences at the King’s College London (London, UK)
- Paul Gissen, PhD, Clinical Professor and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Metabolic Diseases at the University College London (London, UK)
- Paul Robbins, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics at the University of Minnesota; and Co-Director of the Masonic Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)
- Punam Malik, MD, Professor of Pediatrics at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati; and Chair of Gene and Cell Therapy (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA)
- Robert Brosh, PhD, Senior Investigator, Helicases and Genomic Integrity Section at th National Institute of Aging - NIH (Bethesda, Maryland, USA)
- Roberto Zoncu, PhD, Professor in Biochemistry, Biophysics, Structural Biology at the University of California Berkeley (Berkeley, California, USA)
- Yvan Arsenijevic, PhD, Associate Professor and Head of the Fundamental Research Pole of the unit of Retinal Degeneration and Regeneration at the University of Lausanne (Lausanne, Canton of Vaud, CH)
