The FreeNovation program was founded in 2016 by the Novartis Foundation for Research to promote high-potential projects within Switzerland. The 2024’s edition selected 9 candidates from three categories: “New Models for Mathematics”, “Sex” and “From Genetic Associations to Disease Mechanisms”.

As part of this third topic, Marissa Kosnik and Dorian Rollin worked on the genetic mechanisms inducing Parkinson’s disease following insecticide exposure using the AOP framework. On June 8, 2026 they both went to the Novartis Pavillon in Basel to present the results of their project titled “A Data-Driven Approach to Characterize Gene-Environment Interactions in Human Diseases”.

It was a wonderful occasion to discuss potential outlooks and to learn more about the other program topics in a relaxed atmosphere that encourages scientific discussion.