Two ICN2 Researchers Awarded “la Caixa” Foundation Fellowships in the 2025 Call

by Chema Arcos

Dr Marianna Rossetti and Frederico Simões have been granted the Junior Leader Postdoctoral and INPhINIT Doctoral fellowships, respectively. These initiatives aim to attract and retain scientific talent in Spain and Portugal.

Two researchers from ICN2 have been awarded highly competitive fellowships from the “la Caixa” Foundation in its latest call. Dr Marianna Rossetti has received a Junior Leader Postdoctoral Fellowship, while PhD student Frederico Simões has been granted an INPhINIT Doctoral Fellowship. In this edition, the Foundation has awarded 100 doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships to outstanding researchers, enabling them to carry out their projects at leading universities and research centres across Spain and Portugal.

In addition to offering competitive salaries, the programme includes a comprehensive cross-disciplinary training scheme. Doctoral fellows benefit from training in areas such as science communication, emotional well-being, leadership, and funding opportunities, while postdoctoral fellows are supported in developing independent research careers, with a strong emphasis on innovation and leadership. In total, more than €22 million will be invested in this cohort of fellows. Both programmes are co-funded by the European Commission under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND Actions within the Horizon 2020 framework.

Dr Marianna Rossetti’s (NanoBioelectronics and Biosensors Group) research focuses on integrating graphene-based 2D materials with molecular recognition systems, including DNA nanotechnology and CRISPR-Cas platforms. Her work aims to develop nanostructured electrochemical sensing platforms that are rapid, cost-effective, and scalable, making them suitable for decentralised and resource-limited settings. Her project funded by the “la Caixa” Foundation is focused on human papillomavirus (HPV) detection.

Federico Simoes’ (Theoretical and Computational Nanoscience Group) PhD project centres on spin&orbitronics, an emerging field that exploits spin- and angular momentum-polarised electric currents in 2D materials. His research aims to advance Spin-Orbit Torque Magnetic Random Access Memory (SOT-MRAM), a promising technology for next-generation energy-efficient electronics.

At ICN2, we warmly congratulate both researchers on this achievement, which reflects the excellence and impact of the research carried out at the institute.