Postdoc.Mobility: 184 fellowships awarded

© Westend61 / Christian Vorhofer

The SNSF is supporting 184 postdoctoral researchers with their research abroad or on their return to Switzerland. A total of 21.8 million francs is being made available.

How can climate-related risks be assessed more accurately? Simona Meiler will investigate this question and develop a decision-making model at Columbia University, USA, for assessing weather and climate risks. Her innovative approach combines tropical cyclone risk assessment and uncertainty quantification. The resulting model will provide a robust decision-making framework for government, society and business.

She is one of 184 postdoctoral researchers whose research abroad or return phase in Switzerland will be supported by SNSF fellowships totalling 21.8 million francs.

In the August 2023 call for proposals, 370 applications for Postdoc.Mobility fellowships were evaluated. Funding has been awarded for around half of these applications, with 40% going to support research projects led by women. These fellowships will help the postdocs finance a part of their living costs. The researchers also receive a lump sum for travel expenses and, where applicable, for research and conference costs.

Other examples of funded projects

In her study at Laval University in Canada, Maria Christina Mallet wants to develop innovative methods for rapid clinical prediction in emergency admissions of patients with respiratory tract infections. This involves combining clinical information with molecular diagnostic results from rapid tests. Such innovative predictive tools could reliably support triage in a large number of patients with acute respiratory tract infections. Adults with respiratory tract infections who have a low risk of complications could then be swiftly discharged from the emergency department.

Linguist and literary scholar Federica Fusaroli will be studying early 14th-century Occitan texts in Paris. She is researching the history of spiritual manuscripts and the dissemination of texts from the religious lay and poverty movement in the south of France. The study is intended to provide insights into the cultural and ideological background that might explain why the spiritual heritage of the Occitan language was preserved in Franciscan areas of central Italy. Federica Fusaroli's research is thus an important contribution to the history of medieval romance-language literature.