After the grant: updates from researchers supported by Strongers

A question worth asking

«Did my money produce anything?» It's the most honest question a supporter can ask. To answer without making promises, at the end of May 2026 we wrote to the seven researchers supported by the first two editions of the Strongers For Research call for proposals, asking where their projects stood. Four responded, all winners from the 2025 edition. Here we share what they wrote to us.

A note: the results that follow are the work of the researchers and their teams. Strongers supported them with a mini-grant; it takes no credit for their achievements.

The programme in numbers

• 7 researchers supported across two editions, 2024 and 2025
• €20,700 awarded: 3 grants of €2,900 in 2024, 4 of €3,000 in 2025
• Profile: young oncologists under 40 studying lung cancer

International conferences: the case of Guido Marchi

Guido Marchi (AOU Pisana) is studying the real-world incidence of pneumonitis caused by immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with lung cancer. The grant enabled him to present the preliminary project at the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Respiratory Society and to attend the American Thoracic Society congress.

There is also an accountability data point: in his application, Marchi had allocated €1,500 to attendance at the ATS and ERS congresses, and attendance at the ATS did take place. This is the first documented confirmation that a declared budget line in the call for proposals was executed as planned. The group is now collecting clinical, radiological and therapeutic data from the cohort and setting up the statistical analysis.

Immuno-SAFE: Giovanna Polcaro's project

Giovanna Polcaro (University of Salerno) is working on Immuno-SAFE, a saliva-based test that analyses a variant of the PD-1 gene to predict adverse events related to immunotherapy in patients with NSCLC. In her update, she informed us that the project is protected by an Italian and international patent, that the biological rationale of the test has been strengthened by a published study, and that a university spin-off is being prepared to move the test towards clinical application. In 2025, the researcher received the ITWIIN Prize as Italy's best female innovator. Work currently underway concerns the translational validation of the test.

Real-world data and synthetic data: Silvia Masini's project

Silvia Masini (IRCCS Humanitas) is harmonising clinical data from two retrospective cohorts of NSCLC patients treated with chemo-immunotherapy and immunotherapy. The database will be shared with the AI Center to generate and validate synthetic data using generative models; enrolment of patients into a prospective validation cohort has begun, with a liquid biopsy component.

«This funding represents a fundamental step in transforming real-world clinical data into innovative tools for oncological research.» — Silvia Masini

What we still don't know

Four out of seven researchers responded, and we are not generalising their updates to the entire group. Francesca Lo Bianco (Policlinico Gemelli) also sent us an update, which we will share; we have not yet heard from the three 2024 winners. From this year onwards, researcher follow-up becomes part of the programme, not a courtesy.

How to support the next call for proposals

Each edition of the call depends on funds raised through sporting events, donations and company support. You can contribute with a donation; if you represent a company, contact us via the contact form by selecting «partnership».