BIOINTERNECT – “Bi-directional multi-mode bionic interfaces” (PI: Prof. Micera – PI Funding: 690.000 €), is a research project promoted by INAIL in collaboration between the Italian Institute of Technology, the INAIL Prosthesis Centre, the BioRobotics Institute of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and the Bio-Medical Campus in Rome. The aim of the BioInterNect project is to develop new patient-user interface systems, with the aim of promoting the retrieval of complex motor patterns by enriching the quantity and quality of feedback information to the user. The application focus will be on scenarios already addressed in previous INAIL research projects: the use-cases of prosthetics, rehabilitation/assistive robotics and urinary system stimulation for incontinence treatment will be considered.
MNESYS – “A Multiscale integrated approach to the study of the nervous system in health and disease” (PIs: Prof. Micera, Prof. Oddo, Prof. Mazzoni – SSSA funding: 1.276.450 €), is a project supported by #NEXTGENERATIONEU (NGEU) and funded by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The project aims to develop new approaches for experimental and clinical neuroscience from the perspective of precision, personalized, and predictive medicine, with a transformative impact on the treatment of nervous system and behavioral disorders. The paradigm underlying the MNESYS project involves the integration of medical, biological, technological, and computational expertise, with the ultimate goal of gaining a comprehensive understanding of key aspects of nervous system function under physiological conditions and in its most epidemiologically relevant disorders.
THE – “THE – Tuscany Health Ecosystem” (PIs: Prof. Micera, Prof. Oddo, Prof. Mazzoni – SSSA funding: 6.656.568 €), is a project supported by #NEXTGENERATIONEU (NGEU) and funded by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). “THE – Tuscany Health Ecosystem” is one of the 11 innovation ecosystems financed at the national level for the PNRR and is the result of a project proposal submitted by the University of Florence, as lead partner, in line with one of the strategic lines of the Region of Tuscany. THE is the only ecosystem dedicated to Life Sciences, which focuses on the needs of the population. THE’s challenge is to make Tuscany the ‘health region’ by pushing research towards applications and companies to grow technologies dedicated to health and wellbeing. The ecosystem will devote part of the funding to providing funds for applied research to companies and spin-offs on the basis of special public calls for tenders, as well as to the temporary hiring of about 300 new young researchers.
BRIEF – “Biorobotics Research and Innovation Engineering Facilities” (PI: Prof. Micera, Prof. Oddo, Prof. Mazzoni – SSSA funding: 15.290.460 €), is a project supported by #NEXTGENERATIONEU (NGEU) and funded by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). BRIEF aims to enrich an existing distributed infrastructure which was already identified as a high priority infrastructure by the PNIR. The project will strengthen the original infrastructure with a double approach: (i) enlarging the BRIEF coordinating network. In addition to the Scuola Sant’Anna (SSSA) and the BioRobotics Institute at SSSA (BRI-SSSA), the current BRIEF proposal involves up to 17 operational units connected to SSSA or to BRI-SSSA as joint labs. There is also the involvement of south Italian regions, with 2 units at the University Federico II in Naples and 3 at the Politecnico of Bari; (ii) strengthening the infrastructures by offering a full set of opportunities for experiments in the field of biorobotics to external researchers accessing to BRIEF.
NEUROBRIDGE – “A bridge between the neurosciences and the neurotechnologies: an international programme of advanced education ” (PIs: Prof. Micera, Prof. Oddo, Prof. Mazzoni – PIs funding: 526.375 €) is a project supported by #NEXTGENERATIONEU (NGEU) and funded by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). NEUROBRIDGE is a collaborative project led by five Italian universities, dedicated to the promotion of education in the field of the neurosciences and neurotechnologies It is dedicated to international students pursuing their undergraduate and Ph.D. studies, or to international postdoctoral researchers willing to improve their skills.
REWIRE – “Technology-driven combinatorial therapy to rewire the spinal cord after injury” (PI: Prof. Micera, PI funding: 259.437 €), is a project supported by the European Union HORIZON Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks 2021 project REWIRE “Technology-driven combinatorial therapy to rewire the spinal cord after injury” #101073374. The aim of ReWIRE is to leverage innovative translational neurotechnologies and rehabilitation interventions for the repair and restoration of neurological functions following injury of the spinal cord (SCI) in the framework of multiple PhD projects that will continuously interact to converge toward effective combinatorial treatments for SCI.
ELMO – “Modulazione bioelettronica dell’innervazione tumorale per inibire la crescita del cancro: una prova di principio” (PI: Prof. Micera, PI funding: 168.791 €), is a research project promoted by Fondazione Pisa. The main aim of the project is to exploit neuromodulation for cancer therapy. Starting with a breast cancer model, the project plans: 1) to evaluate the nature and the extent of tumor innervation within the TME, by adopting highly-resolution single cell spatial transcriptomics to describe the 3D architecture of nerves within the tumor milieu. 2) to use NIs to modulate nerve activity to inhibit cancer growth. This study would represent a proof-of-principle for a completely novel anti-cancer therapeutic paradigm carrying a potentially major impact on tumor prognosis and patients’ quality of life.
“Evaluation of spinal cord stimulation assisted by motor rehabilitation training for restoring motor function after spinal cord injury” – (PI: Prof. Micera, PI funding: 80.000 €) is a research project funded by Fondazione Cariplo in collaboration with Vita-Salute San Raffaele University Milan.
EBRAINS-Italy – “European Brain ReseArch INfrastructureS-Italy” (PI: Prof. Mazzoni, SSSA funding: 744.520 €) is the Italian node of the EBRAINS European distributed infrastructure. It aims at enabling clinical and experimental activities in the Health sector to adequately exploit the most advanced modeling, computer and analytical technologies available in the neuroscience field.
FIT4MEDROB – “Fit for Medical Robotics” (PI: Prof. Mazzoni, PI funding: 156.820 €), is a project supported by #NEXTGENERATIONEU (NGEU) and funded by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The aim of the project is to revolutionise current rehabilitation and assistive models for patients of all ages with reduced or absent motor, sensory or cognitive functions, by developing new bionic and biorobotic digital technologies, as well as innovative treatment paradigms capable of exploiting these technologies in all phases of the rehabilitation process, from prevention to home care in the chronic phase.
TUNEIN – “Retune gait freezing in Parkinson’s disease” (PI: Prof. Mazzoni, PI funding: 180.000 $), is a research project funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in collaboration with Centro Specialistico Ortopedico Traumatologico Gaetano Pini-CTO Milano, University Hospital Wuerzburg, and Newronika SpA. The project will investigate possible solutions to the therapeutic roadblock in Parkinson’s disease (PD) resulting from the often-disappointing outcomes of deep brain stimulation (DBS) strategies in treating gait disorders and freezing of gait (FOG). New gait- and FOG-specific algorithms for adaptive DBS (aDBS) will be implemented and tested in a clinically available device that will address gait impairment in an acceptable, usable, and impactful way for patients and families.
MAD – “The etiopathological basis of gait derangement in Parkinson’s disease: decoding locomotor network dynamics” (PI: Prof. Mazzoni, PI funding: 192.600 €), is a research project supported by #NEXTGENERATIONEU (NGEU) and funded by the Ministry of Health (MSAL), National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The main aim of the project is to investigate the pathophysiological basis of gait disorders and FOG in Parkinson’s disease combining clinical, genetic, inflammatory response, biomechanical, EMG and cortical and subcortical recordings while the patient moves in a fully-immersive virtual reality environment. The project will identify symptom-specific and task-related biomarkers to foster novel neuromodulatory therapeutic strategies that will be used to personalize therapy (adaptive DBS) for home monitoring and home care solutions.
GENT – “Gamma Entrainment against Tumor“ (PI: Prof. Mazzoni, PI funding: 70.680 €), is a research project promoted by Charity Fund Intesa San Paolo in collaboration with the Institute of Neuroscience, CNR Pisa. The main aim is to develop and test an innovative, non-invasive approach to counteract the progression of glioblastoma, based on the modulation of gamma oscillations through visual sensory stimulation.