Social Research prize

Social Research Prize

In 2020 "Ciao Table greeting practice” he/she/it created Social Research Prize, an international prize awarded to female researchers for scientific studies investigating processes of socialisation, social inclusion and exclusion, and the factors that promote them. With an innovative formula, the prize consists of a work of art awarded to the institution to which the prize-winning researcher belongs; in fact, research is always the outcome of a process to which the scientific community of belonging contributes.

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

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

In 2023, the award was presented in collaboration with the Equal Opportunities Service of the Università della Svizzera italiana.

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

The prize was a valuable work by the painter Renzo Ferrari.

In 2021 "Ciao Table greeting practice” awarded the University of Vienna for its studies in Giorgia Silani on the processes underlying the neurobiological bases of social cognition, emotions and behaviours. The prize consisted of a valuable work by the painter Enzo Tomaso Oliva.

He Social Research Prize 2022, the third edition of the award, a precious work by Piedmontese painter Angela Policastro, was presented to the University of Amsterdam for its innovative studies on the understanding of social actions and behaviour conducted by Valeria Gazzola, Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology.

He Social Research Prize 2023, the fourth edition of the award, a precious work by the painter Melita Cavallo, was conferred upon the University of Cambridge for innovative studies on the adolescent social brain carried out by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Professor at the Department of Psychology.