Immune-mediated diseases (IMIDs) are an increasing medical burden in industrialized countries worldwide. IMIDs are characterized by an enormous heterogeneity with regard to disease outcome and response to targeted therapies, which currently cannot be adequately anticipated to tailor individual patient management. Hence, mechanistic understanding of this heterogeneity and biomarkers predictive for disease control and therapy response over time are important prerequisites of a future precision medicine in IMIDs. ImmUniverse has been formed as a European transdisciplinary consortium to tackle these unmet needs and to understand the role of the crosstalk between tissue microenvironment and immune cells in disease progression and response to therapy of two different IMIDs: ulcerative colitis and atopic dermatitis. Following this unique cross-disease approach ImmUniverse will fill the gap and the limitations of current studies, which do not systematically compare the complex interactions between recirculating immune cells and the respective tissue microenvironment. The consortium will combine analysis of tissue-derived signatures with “circulating signatures” detectable in liquid biopsies, employing state-of-the-art profiling technologies corresponding to multi-Omics datasets. The project will also bring diagnostics in IMID to a new level by implementing disruptive non-invasive liquid-biopsy methodology in combination with novel, validated circulating biomarker assays which are expected to improve diagnosis, inform early in the clinical course on disease severity and progression and enable treatment response monitoring. The identified signature will be validated to monitor state/progression and response to therapy in prospective observational cohorts. Realization of these objectives will result in improvement of patient management, lead to increased patient well-being and will significantly reduce the socioeconomic burden of these diseases.

With vast experience, in-depth knowledge and established expertise in infectious disease prevention and control on passenger ships, HEALTHY SAILING consortium presents a comprehensive approach introducing innovative, multi-layered, risk and evidence-based, cost-effective tested measures for infectious diseases prevention, mitigation and management (PMM) differentiated for large ferries, cruise ships and expedition vessels. This approach covers: a) preparedness and response to known infectious diseases frequently occurring on passenger ships, diseases that have never occurred but for which preparedness is essential, diseases of unknown aetiology to ensure preparedness for future emerging pathogens/pandemics; b) the entire passenger/crew journey travelling from home to ship and returning, on-board, during shore-side visits; c) ship-board operations, shore-side company operations, port destinations and communities; d) a global perspective of project outputs towards communities and passenger shipping industry. Epidemiological studies, risk assessment, modelling for disease spread and aerosol/droplet dispersion and setting disease thresholds/alert levels will develop a scientific evidence-base and support production of evidence-informed guidelines on COVID-19 for ships/ports, passengers/crew vaccination, ventilation systems and expedition vessels’ medical operation needs. Development/testing of ship-specific syndromic surveillance, AI systems, decision support tools will contribute to early health threat detection on-board, risk-based proportionate responses, and healthy on-board environments. Toolkits for blended learning with hands-on training and technology induced behaviour change will further knowledge, awareness and compliance of all stakeholders. An integrated e-pass based on one-ID concept and toolkit predicting port response capacities will address port operation and community needs. A scientific international panel will promote a harmonized global approach.

In order to strengthen the sustainability and resilience of health services and systems a unique consortium of governmental and funding organizations plus research institutes, has expressed the ambition to systematically learn from the organisation of care in other settings. Overall objective of TO-REACH is to provide groundwork for a future joint research programme that will contribute to the resilience, effectiveness, equity, accessibility and comprehensiveness of health services and systems. We will do so along two work streams: A) We will develop a research program on cross-border learning from good (or even innovative) models of care and the conditions needed to transfer them to other settings for implementation. It could refer to anywhere in the care chain depending on the priorities as identified in a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) within this project. Conceptual, methodological and empirical advancement will be achieved through 4 meta-questions that will instruct research under a future joint research programme, linking to what counts as good models of care, what are the conditions required for transferability, what are the conditions for up-scaling, and how do they contribute to the performance of health care organisations and systems. B) We will build a platform for funding organizations that allows for collaboration and coordination in the project and projected joint research programme. This will synchronize priorities and activities, hence improving the quality and applicability of research with a focus on the topic areas as described under A. TO-REACH will pursue five specific objectives: Mapping health system challenges and priorities by synthesizing different materials and stakeholder inputs; Developing a framework and providing a knowledge synthesis on the above-mentioned meta-questions; Establishing sustainable cooperation of research funding bodies and links with other initiatives; Developing a SRA through agenda setting at European and Member State level; Disseminating the results of TO-REACH.