The 2026 edition of FFC Ricerca’s calls for cystic fibrosis research closed on February 4, receiving 69 project proposals. Of these, 54 were submitted to the General call and 15 to the Gianni Mastella call, which is dedicated to early-career researchers.

The three-year Gianni Mastella call includes six Starting Grant projects from researchers under 40 and nine Research Fellowships from candidates under 33. For the FFC Ricerca general call, 25 projects requested three-year funding, 25 requested two-year funding, and 4 requested one-year funding. Nearly half of all proposals (46%) are multicenter.

Both calls focus on the same scientific priorities: developing innovative and personalized therapies, studying infection and inflammation in cystic fibrosis, and conducting clinical and epidemiological research. The most represented area is bronchopulmonary infection infection, with 37 projects, followed by studies to correct the underlying defect (11), lung inflammation (10), clinical and epidemiological research (6), and personalized therapies (5).

International participation is growing, with six foreign units, including four outside Europe, among a total of 50 research institutions participating as principal or partner units. In the FFC Ricerca call, 46% of proposals are multicenter, while 28% are single-center.

Overall, the two calls involved 118 researchers, with a balanced gender distribution. The average age of participants is 50.5 years for the FFC Ricerca call and 36 and 31 years, respectively, for the two Gianni Mastella lines.

The next step is the administrative review, followed by evaluation by the Scientific Committee and international referees. Funded projects for the 2026–2029 period will be announced by early summer, with activities set to begin on September 1, 2026.