Social Research prize

Social Research Prize

In 2020 Ciao Table created Social Research Prize, an international prize awarded to female researchers for scientific studies investigating processes of socialization, inclusion and social exclusion and the factors that promote them. With an innovative formula, the prize consists of a work of art awarded to the Institute to which the female researcher recipient belongs; in fact, research is always the outcome of a process to which the scientific community to which it belongs contributes.

The Social Research Prize 2026 is conferred upon Veronica Witte, Associate Scientist at the University of Leipzig and Group Leader at the Department of Neurology of the Max Planck Institute. The ceremony will take place on May 29, 2026, at the Auditorium of the University of Italian Switzerland (USI) in Lugano, in collaboration with the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) and with the support of the City of Lugano.

The recognition rewards her important research on the effects that social relationships and lifestyle have on the brain and cognitive health. On the occasion of the event, the researcher presents a Master Lecture titled “How Social Relationships Change the Brain: New Discoveries”.

In 2023, the prize was awarded in collaboration with the Equal Opportunity Service of the University of Lugano.

The Social Research Prize is given to a different country each year. The first edition of the prize was awarded to the University of Lugano for innovative neuroscientific research on social inclusion conducted by Rosalba Morese, who in the following years accepted the role of the “godmother” of the award.

The award was a valuable work by painter Renzo Ferrari.

In 2021 Ciao Table awarded the University of Vienna for studies of Giorgia Silani on the processes underlying the neurobiological basis of social cognition, emotions and behavior. The prizes consisted of a valuable work by painter Enzo Tomaso Oliva.

The Social Research Prize 2022, the third edition of the prize, a valuable work by Piedmontese painter Angela Policastro, was awarded to the University of Amsterdam for innovative studies on understanding social actions and behavior carried out by Valeria Gazzola, Associate Professor at Department of Psychology.

The Social Research Prize 2023, the fourth edition of the prize, a valuable work by painter Melita Cavallo, was awarded to the University of Cambridge for the groundbreaking studies on the social brain in adolescence carried out by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Professor at Department of Psychology.