Funds TOgether 2023 edition

The second edition of Funds TOgether concluded in March 2024. The five selected projects achieved their goal, raising a total of 107,000 euros.

This penguin species inhabits the coasts of South Africa and Namibia. It is also known as the “Donkey penguin” because of its distinctive vocalizations. Its future is at risk due to declining fish stocks, coastal degradation, and the human impact on natural habitats.

The research team aims to monitor their health through the sounds the penguins produce, contributing to their survival without disturbing them. Each donation helps purchase advanced equipment and fund the salary of a local ranger, an essential role for maintaining monitoring systems and protecting the colony.

With the help of expert engineers, the research team has developed innovative software that uses immersive virtual reality to teach students the clinical skills needed to perform a respiratory endoscopy.

Virtual Vet Lab offers the chance to train in a safe and stimulating environment, supporting learning and autonomy. However, it is still experimental and needs the expert touch of a programmer to become easy to use. Thanks to this campaign, a scholarship can be funded so the software can finally become a complete teaching tool.

The goal of the campaign is to further improve voice‑dictation software capable of writing mathematical formulas. With current voice‑dictation systems, such as Google’s voice typing, formulas can only be dictated in words, without the graphic symbols needed to complete math exercises.

The research team has already developed SpeechMatE (Speech‑Driven Mathematical Editor), software that allows dictation of some formulas, but it is now technologically outdated and lacks voice‑based editing and navigation features. The researchers aim to create a web‑based version of SpeechMatE, in Italian, with new functionalities.

This new software is essential for people with motor or visual disabilities, or with learning disorders, but also useful for anyone studying mathematics.

A group of researchers from the University of Turin has launched the Longennials Factory, a health‑promotion service dedicated to the 60/65+ generation. Through this project, they identify and address challenges related to cognitive decline, tackle physical and cognitive frailty by shedding light on causes and solutions, analyze collected data to develop practical and personalized strategies, and promote intergenerational solidarity by spreading modern neuropsychological knowledge for shared well‑being.

Thanks to the crowdfunding campaign, they will acquire the digital assessment and monitoring platform CANTAB Connect Research, usable in the cloud across a wide range of populations (including clinical ones).

The research team has developed a vaccine (MeraVax) targeting the CSPG4 molecule expressed by osteosarcoma, a difficult‑to‑treat bone cancer affecting children, adolescents, and also dogs.

The vaccine stimulates the immune system of both dogs and humans to fight the tumor. They are currently testing the vaccine in dogs with osteosarcoma, with very encouraging results, but to complete the research they need to produce additional doses and purchase specific needles for administration.

By reaching the campaign goal, they can validate the effectiveness of MeraVax against osteosarcoma in dogs and obtain the data needed to extend the study to humans.