Mental disorders represent one of the largest burdens for the European Health Care system, due to large number of patients and a lack of efficient treatment options. Today, drug treatment of mental disorders is characterized by severe adverse effects and suboptimal response in more than a third of the patients. Optimizing treatment is based on a trial-and-error approach, which combined with frequent multi-morbidities, often leads to polypharmacy and poor outcome. Due to limited understanding of the disease mechanisms that underlie mental disorders, new drugs with novel therapeutic targets are lacking, and existing treatments are ineffective for many people. It is therefore urgent that cutting-edge research approaches are deployed to develop innovative tools to individualize treatments using available psychiatric medication, and thus improve clinical outcomes and reduce costs for health care systems. The main goal of the multidisciplinary REALMENT project is to optimize treatment of mental disorders through novel precision medicine strategies based on current pharmaceutical options. REALMENT includes world leading research institutes and pharmaceutical industry at the very forefront of mental disorder research. REALMENT will achieve its objectives by exploiting population-scale Real-World Data (RWD) in combination with Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) data available to the partners. Big data from populations (Nordic registries), cohorts (European biobanks), and eHealth samples (medical records), including whole genome genotypes (n=1.9 million), will be analysed in an EU-wide sustainable infrastructure using artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop prediction and stratification tools (precision psychiatry). These algorithms will be validated in large RCT data (n=10k) and re-phenotyping projects, and implemented in a clinical management platform (4MENT), which will be made available to provide decision support to clinicians to optimize therapeutic effects.

As Rare Earth Elements (REE) are crucial to a wide range of modern technologies regards to their unique properties, Europe expands its ability to obtain these strategic REE resources. Thus, several research and industrial projects were recently dedicated to the identification of potential REE stocks in Europe. However, the environmental risk exerted by the REE dissemination has so far received very little attention although disruptions of some REE biogeochemical cycles have been already evidenced. In that context, intensive and cooperative intersectoral researches are needed on REE environmental occurrence, behaviour, fate and their respective effects on natural resources (soils, waters and biota) and human health. The PANORAMA project is a unique multi- and interdisciplinary project aiming at (i) investigating the whole REE environmental behaviour including the characterization of sources, speciations and transfers throughout the different environmental compartments and sensu lato associated effects onto environmental health, as well as (ii) gaining valuable knowledge for applications in friendly environmental REE life cycle. For the 1st time PANORAMA gathers the competencies of (geo)chemists, (hydro)geologists and (eco)toxicologists, working in 14 academic and 4 private partners to enroll and train 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs). The project will combine training and cutting-edge research tools through coupled field/ analytical/experimental/modeling approaches. The strong blend of academic and non-academic sectors in the consortium will give the ESRs a unique chance to develop a wide set of fundamental research, technical and transferable skills (e.g. research integrity, communication and dissemination, career development and innovative technology), thus preparing them for long-time employment in either the academic, industrial, commercial or policy sectors and pave the way for high-level long-standing intersectoral collaborations within a European framework.

Water scarcity has various negative side-effects on river ecosystem and riverine biodiversity with the deteriorated water quality and quantity. Due to global climate change, a continuous increase in the proportion of intermittent rivers and aquifers is envisaged that will make them the dominant water bodies in the Mediterranean basin. To our best knowledge, hydrological, physico-chemical and ecological processes in intermittent rivers are scarce and not sufficiently supporting specific management options under the characteristic flush and drought conditions of intermittent rivers. The INWAT project aims at estimating intermittent river and groundwater quality and evaluating environmental problems associated to water scarcity in the seven Mediterranean catchments (Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria) representing a wide range of management scenarios to ensure the transferability and further impact of the developed decision-support system from EU members to EU associated and MENA countries. Specific objectives are: (i) To develop innovative methods for hydrological monitoring and innovative hydrological modelling tools tailor-made to intermittent rivers representing the widest possible diversity of management scenarios under water scarcity conditions, such as sea intrusion and groundwater recharge, groundwater water quality issues. (ii) To improve the knowledge and capacity on pollution sources and processes naturally attenuating contamination by chemicals in intermittent rivers and aquifers. (iii) To develop methodologies for monitoring and assessing the ecological status of intermittent rivers with a particular focus on the development and refinement of novel biological indicators including metagenomic approaches. (iv) To develop a decision-support system with stakeholders involved in water management for the design of management actions to help minimizing and mitigating the effects of global change in water-scarce regions.

Biofilms, i.e. communities of micro-organisms that attach and grow on a solid surface, cause about 80% of infections in humans and disinfectants rarely succeed in destroying them. They cost European economy billions of euro annually. The BREAK BIOFILMS Training Network aims to solve this issue by training the next generation leaders. They will understand the (bio)physicochemical mechanisms of biofilm formation, be able to produce technology for detecting and identifying biofilm formation with extreme sensitivity, and develop next generation biocides for preventing and destroying biofilms in industrial and biomedical areas. This integrated strategy from biofilm detection to destruction that builds on key innovations from the partner labs, is globally distinctive and promises significant progress. The network brings together world leaders in sensors, cell imaging, microbiology, interfacial engineering and nanoformulation from 6 universities, 9 companies, a research centre, and a Business and Innovation Centre. Thus, it is ideal to provide technical, industrial and business training to 15 ESRs and support the missions of the industry partners who will provide deep insights into the most pressing and impactful challenges. The graduates will be ideally placed to enter and support existing European industry across a number of different sectors (biomedical, food, antimicrobials). However, they will also be capable of creating new businesses thanks to a combination of in depth training in entrepreneurship and direct experience of establishing and running a virtual company as part of the training network. Beyond the trained researchers, this project will produce technologies that will enhance the productivity of European industry, create intellectual property with a strong probability of commercialization and improve the health and well-being of European citizens by minimizing infection rates and the inappropriate use of ineffective biocides that is leading to resistance.