IBEC project among 44 funded by AXA

The AXA Research Fund, the international scientific philanthropy initiative of global insurer AXA, officially announced last week that it will devote €15.6m in 2016 to 44 new research projects with leading academic institutions in 16 countries.

IBEC’s two-year project, “Novel approaches for Pandemic Virus Targeting Using Adaptive Polymers”, is led by new junior group leader Lorenzo Albertazzi and aims to harness nanotechnology to introduce a whole new class of tools to fight viruses. This and the 43 other new projects were announced last Friday at an event in Paris, bringing together AXA executives and experts, members of the AXA Research Fund scientific community and academic partners, and other stakeholders.

The new wave of funding brings AXA Research Fund’s total commitment to academic research up to €149m for 492 projects in 33 countries since its creation in 2007 to boost knowledge and fuel the public debate on environmental, life and socio-economic risks.