Welcome to the homepage of the Institute for Translational Research USI-EOC (IRT), of the Università della Svizzera italiana and Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale!
The Institute for Translational Research is dedicated to applied biomedical research through a multidisciplinary approach, aimed at improving health and at understanding human disease.
The Institute
Our research teams are interdisciplinary and include biologists, biochemists, physicians, pharmacologists, technicians and students. We use cutting edge technologies ranging from biomolecules, cell cultures and organoids to organs on a chip from animal and human origin. We are committed to work with animal models only when strictly unavoidable.
The administrative team supports all research groups in the management of all administrative and financial tasks.
In addition to our focus on translational research, we are dedicated to teaching and training young scientists to foster their career in basic and clinical research. Open positions for master and doctoral thesis are available.
The Institute for Translational Research is born in July 2025 from the initiative and support of the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC) and Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) that had been pursuing for some time with a view to transforming the Laboratories for Translational Research into a fully-fledged university institute. The new Institute for Translational Research is managed 50% by EOC and 50% by USI and, like the former LRT, is based in the Bios+ building in Via Francesco Chiesa in Bellinzona.
The IRT is a “joint” institute with a shared scientific project and balanced core funding, which will ensure continuity and academic identity. More specifically, the following Research Divisions have been merged into the new Institute: Neurology division, led by Giorgia Melli; Cardiology Division, led by Lucio Barile; Gut Division, led by Giandomenica Iezzi; Regenerative medicine Division, led by Matteo Moretti.
The scientific director of the new IRT is Professor Alain Kaelin, Director of the Istituto Neurocentro della Svizzera Italiana (EOC) and Full Professor at USI, as well as Director of the PhD Programmmes in Biomedical Sciences. The Institute is funded by EOC, USI, competitive funds, private donations and contributions, by charitable organizations, by biotech companies and by foundations for scientific research. Thanks to the merger with USI, access to federal and cantonal funding is expanded and facilitated.
