In one of Horizon Europe’s most selective calls for proposals, the University of Pisa has been awarded seven Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA PFs), confirming its position as one of Italy’s most competitive universities in terms of European research and attracting international talent. The total funding of over €1,400,000 will enable seven postdoctoral researchers to develop seven cutting-edge projects in fields ranging from materials science and theoretical mathematics to humanities, international law, cultural heritage conservation, and sustainable energy technologies.
“MSCA-PFs are one of Horizon Europe’s most important tools for promoting mobility and frontier research,” commented Rector Riccardo Zucchi. “This achievement by the University of Pisa confirms the quality of our scientific communities and the growing international appeal of our University. It also reflects a strategic investment in policies supporting European project design. We have established a structured support ecosystem for MSCA-PFs, covering every stage from training and proposal review to internal funding schemes such as Seal of Excellence@UNIPI. This approach enables us to nurture talent, boost the competitiveness of applications, and strengthen the University of Pisa’s standing in the European Research Area.”
The seven projects
Of the seven projects funded, two will be supervised by Professor Alessandra Operamolla of the Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry. The first is “NanoSense”, led by researcher Mayra Marino, which involves developing an innovative, eco-friendly optical sensor to detect cadmium in water. Cadmium is a highly toxic heavy metal that can accumulate in soil and contaminate food and drink.
The second is “BIO-TEXTILE-SSbD”, led by researcher Cicely Warne, which will focus on developing completely bio-based, waterproof textile coatings designed to replace PFAS — persistent, polluting chemicals that are increasingly subject to regulatory restrictions.
Also in the Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, funding has been awarded to the “Decode Ancient Flame” project, led by researcher Dina Atwa Khalil, supervised by Professor Ilaria Bonaduce. This interdisciplinary study will examine the cleaning and chemical analysis of soot deposits on archaeological finds. Innovative non-invasive techniques will be combined with advanced analysis to preserve artefacts and reconstruct aspects of the daily lives and productive activities of ancient civilisations.
The “CIRCLEINLAW” project, led by researcher Miriam Schettini and supervised by Professor Leonardo Pasquali of the Department of Law, examines the transition to a circular economy from an international legal perspective, comparing the regulatory models of the European Union and Brazil.
In the humanities, the “MoDi” project, led by researcher Valeria Taddei and supervised by Professor Cristina Savettieri of the Department of Philology, Literature and Linguistics, will present the first comparative analysis of early 20th-century European modernist writers’ diaries. The project aims to investigate how philosophical and cultural transformations of the time – the so-called ‘crisis of the self’ – influenced forms of private writing and self-representation.
In pure mathematics, the geometric measure theory project “DireStratS”, led by researcher Giacomo Del Nin and supervised by Professor Giovanni Alberti of the Department of Mathematics, will address fundamental questions concerning the structure of singularities and dimension reduction in Euclidean and metric spaces. Although this theoretical research is highly specialised, it may have implications for fields such as materials science and the study of complex physical phenomena.
Finally, in the field of energy, the “LEXI4D” project, led by researcher Stella Zakeri and supervised by Professor Francesco Tamburrino of the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, will develop new solid electrolytes for next-generation lithium batteries using 4D printing techniques and self-repairing materials.
Supporting European project design
In recent years, the Research Promotion and Design Unit of the University of Pisa has developed a structured process to support MSCA-PF applications. This includes dedicated training activities, operational tools for proposal drafting, and personalised project review cycles. These initiatives are complemented by the MSCA Seal of Excellence @UNIPI programme, which supports projects that have obtained very high scores in European evaluations and have been recognized with the European Commission’s Seal of Excellence, but were not funded due to budget constraints. In the 2025 call for proposals, 28 projects with the University of Pisa as the host institution were awarded the Seal of Excellence. The recipients of the grants funded by the University will be selected through an internal procedure based on the results of the European evaluation.
