ROMA (ITALPRESS) – After the ten-year plan of Project 30×30, the Lilly Foundation for Italy officially opens the first calls for financing research graduates for Italian universities. The program represents one of the most important non-profit investments in advanced training and applied research to health policies, with the aim of contributing to the development of high impact skills for the National Health Service (SSN).
Project 30×30 provides, over the next ten years, the financing of 30 PhDs in 30 Italian universities, distributed throughout the national territory and dedicated to strategic verticals for the evolution of the health system: digital innovation and technological transformation; sustainability, economics and financial models; access, equity and organizational reforms; prevention, public health and One Health; partnership, training and internationalization.
Each doctorate will be enriched by international collaborations with universities that will be selected, exploiting the multinational presence of Lilly in the world, to form the new health managers, able to operate at national and global level. The first three bands: innovation, sustainability and equity.
The first bands activated by the Lilly Foundation reflect three key dimensions for the future of the SSN. Artificial Intelligence in Diagnostics and Clinical Paths – Predictive Use and Care Customization: The call is dedicated to the study of the impact of AI technologies in diagnostic and decision-making processes, with particular attention to personalized medicine, predictive assessment of therapeutic responses and the quality of clinical paths; use of predictive models in health planning: Use of innovative models and data-driven for healthcare programming: it aims to support research projects focused on the use of predictive tools for healthcare planning, including predictive expenditure analysis, innovation impact assessment and bid network programming models. Equity of access to care: Instruments, measurement and policies aimed at ensuring horizontal and vertical equity: the call is dedicated to the development and application of methods and tools capable of improving the measurement and strengthening of equity in access routes to health services.
All Italian, state and non-state universities, legally recognized and accredited, can participate in the bands with active research graduates. In addition, the funding provides three-year support for a doctoral grant, provided directly to the winning University, according to national law. The deadline for submission of applications is 31 March 2026. Project proposals will be evaluated by the Lilly Foundation Consultative Committee through a structured process that will take into account, among other elements, of: scientific quality and degree of innovation of the project; coherence with the themes of the call; skills and experience of the Scientific Manager; quality and adequacy of the training plan. The aim is to select research initiatives with high scientific and application potential, able to generate useful knowledge for the evolution of policies and models of care.
“We are extremely proud to start the first calls of Project 30×30, with which the Foundation has chosen to strengthen its historical commitment to scientific research, expanding its perspective towards the development of strategic skills capable of generating real impact on the healthcare system – said Federico Villa, General Manager of the Lilly Foundation for Italy. Today more than ever, sustainability, equity and innovation skills of the National Health Service depend on the availability of advanced knowledge and multidisciplinary approaches. In this scenario, research is not only an academic field, but a real policy tool, essential to support more informed decisions, more effective organizational models and more appropriate care paths. Investing in research graduates means contributing to the formation of a new generation of researchers and professionals able to interpret the complexity of contemporary health, transforming knowledge and evidence into levers of concrete improvement for the system”.
“The 30×30 Project was born of an increasingly evident awareness in the scientific and institutional debate: the transformation of health systems requires a solid foundation of knowledge, multidisciplinary skills and rigorous evidence. Innovations such as artificial intelligence, new models of sustainability and care access strategies are profoundly redefining the clinical, organizational and economic processes of health. However, so that these innovations can generate real and measurable value, it is essential to invest in advanced research and in the production of scientific evidence capable of evaluating impact, appropriateness and sustainability. Supporting research graduates means strengthening the ability of the system to develop independent analyses, evaluation models and evidence-based decision-making tools, contributing to the construction of more robust, transparent and health-oriented health policies,” commented Claudio Jommi, Chairman of the Lilly Foundation Consultative Committee.
– Lilly Foundation Press Office Photos
(ITALPRESS).
