The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic creates an unprecedented burden worldwide. Vaccine-induced immunity is the only promising solution. There is continued need for phase 2 & 3 vaccine trials to reach long-term, large-scale immunity of the entire European population. VACCELERATE will be the pan-European backbone accelerating phase 2 & 3 COVID-19 vaccine trials. The overall objective of VACCELERATE is to connect all European stakeholders involved in vaccine development to provide a pan-European platform for clinical trial design and conduct. VACCELERATE constitutes the rapid response single entry-point to stakeholders from public health authorities to vaccine developers, to address respective needs and kick-start specifically phase 2 & 3 vaccine trials. VACCELERATE conducts capacity mapping of clinical trial and laboratory sites to identify suitable sites for individual phase 2 & 3 vaccine trials. Capacity building via training will increase quality in sites across Europe. Volunteer registries facilitate patient recruitment. Access to laboratory sites and a standardised set of assays essential for clinical phase 2 & 3 trials is provided. A harmonised European approach to vaccine trials is enabled by aligning educational standards, coordination of laboratory support and providing standardised assays and trial protocols. Harmonised data collection, open data sharing and pooling of data for stronger analysis enables data standardisation. VACCELERATE offers solutions for characteristic vaccine development issues during pandemics by closing gaps in public health knowledge and improving knowledge transfer. VACCELERATE amalgamates the vast but scattered expertise across Europe into one network to deliver strategic scientific leadership and guidance on vaccine trials in Europe. Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be an established pandemic preparedness network, ready to face emerging future pandemics, as well as a pivot in Europe?s capacity to develop vaccines.

The aim of the project is to launch Interdisciplinary PhD Studies in Biomedicine aimed at young aspiring scientists, who will conduct research on life-style diseases and on biostatistics and bioinformatics methods necessary to process and interpret data obtained in research projects. The studies will provide an outstanding opportunity for in-depth education in high-throughput experimental and computational techniques used in genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and immunology. 15 PhD students will be involved in scientific projects supervised by excellent researchers, outstanding scientists selected from partner organizations, with a profound expertise and experience in: Cancer/Mutagenesis, Cardiovascular diseases, Population Medicine and Epidemiology, Diabetes/Obesity, Metabolic and Neurodegenerative diseases, Regenerative medicine, Molecular Biology, Genomics, Protein Analysis and Proteomics, Metabolomics/Lipidomics, Immunology and Experimental Medicine. They will be employed at Medical University of Bialystok. The development of doctoral students' research potential will be based also on internships, short research visits, conferences and trainings at the partner institutions: CEMBIO San Pablo University, Vienna Biocenter, Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research CNIC, Bialystok University of Technology and CenStat at Hasselt University. Industry partner organizations: Agilent Technology, deCODE, ideas4biology and Warsaw Genomics will invite PhD students for scientific visits, to familiarize young researchers with the tools and methods of work and organizational environment in the company. Industry providing their know-how will educate, and prepare their potential employees with high qualifications to get job in the close future. Best young scientists from the beginning of their academic career will be able to gain scientific independence and will have huge motivation to become more involved and creative in the research projects carried out thanks to COFUNDing the project by EC.

The objective of the project was to adapt university study programmes to the needs of the health service in the area of the use of AAC techniques in omics through an exchange of experiences at the European level.The rapidly increasing incidence of civilization diseases is the main reason for the increase of morbidity and mortality in Europe and quantitative/qualitative research into identifying biomarkers of civilization diseases in the context of omics – addressed by this project – is one of the possible remedies. Omics are disciplines that explain the biochemical bases of an organism’s functioning through the characterization/quantification of pools of biological molecules. As single compounds are ineffective biomarkers, omics give new opportunities for a more detailed understanding of diseases. This improves efficiency and monitoring, and leads to personalized therapies. Advanced Analytical Chemistry (AAC), an instrumental basis for all pharmaceutical/biomedical examinations, allows to apply the premises of omics in practice.Omics development at European universities is imbalanced. Although AAC/omics is usually included in theoretical/practical classes at PhD courses, the number of specialized units/teams with access to dedicated equipment needed for a comprehensive approach is limited. There is also a lack of AAC-qualified academics, didactic materials or a system for an exchange of experiences at all levels. Thus, only few PhD students can be fully trained in AAC, instrumental analysis, or data handling, or acquire the skills necessary to integrate AAC with the needs of health service, hospital diagnostic labs, business or labour market. The project was implemented in an international consortium of three universities. These are: Medical University of Bialystok (Bialystok, Poland), CEU San Pablo University (Madrid, Spain) and University of Aveiro (Aveiro, Portugal). The aims of the project were achieved by preparing the academic staff of the 3 partner universities for educating PhD students in AAC techniques in omics, leading to modifications in study programmes and the creation of Open Educational Resources (manuscript, e-materials). The activities included partnership-based learning/training/teaching, and involved an exchange of experiences and good practices, creating a stable and active network of cooperation, and personal and social development of project participants.The Learning/Training/Teaching Activities organized as part of the project played a key role in aspects related to training of the researchers/teachers involved in the project and preparing the project’s IOs. The first series of activities (Learning Activities) were organized to provide the researchers/teachers with the necessary theoretical and practical skills in AAC. These were followed by Training Activities with PhD students (workshops) whose purpose was to expand on the previous sessions in a researcher/teacher-PhD student context (an international teaching cooperation). The last series of activities (Teaching Activities), in addition to providing a further extension of the earlier ones, were aimed at testing the manuscript and e-materials and introducing all the necessary modifications.Implementation of the project gave the unique opportunity for the 3 partner universities to combine the knowledge and experience of their scientific and administrative teams. An additional result of the project implementation was an exchange of good practices and skills and an extension of cooperation between the 3 institutions, which opened possibilities for future joint investigations. Moreover, the project created a rich multidisciplinary environment, facilitating the sharing of knowledge between each of the team members at a high academic level. The impact of the project will extend to both the scientific community and patients, leading to a better therapeutic possibilities in the area of civilisation diseases. The methodology of project implementation is based on the circular model. 4-5 persons from each of the universities were involved in the project, specialists both in AAC and in project management, in addition to liaisons in other departments of the partner universities’ departments accessory to the administrative aspects of the project.The transnational cooperation in the project stemmed from its highly specialized nature, global relevance, and the unique path of development of its subject area. Therefore, to realize the project’s objectives, a collaboration in a wide group of international experts, competent in various aspects of AAC and omics, was absolutely essential. As the level of development of AAC and multiomics varies throughout Europe, the project facilitated an exchange of knowledge, experience, and good practices. This is an EU-level added value, i.e. outcomes impossible to achieve by one institution, or even various institutions from a single country.

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs), caused by bacteria, viruses, or protozoa, present a significant health and socioeconomic challenge in Europe. Historically centered in Central and Eastern Europe, Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) are prevalent in Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic, with their range expanding due to climate change. Reports show a rising incidence of TBDs in Northern Europe, with about 24% of Europeans living in high Lyme borreliosis (LB) areas as of 2022. It is further heightened by the tick collonization of urban and peri-urban environments where the risk of a tick bite is much higher due to the larger population density of humans and pets. TBDs impose a considerable burden on European societies, with the ECDC estimating around 360,000 Lyme cases in 2016, leading to societal costs of approximately 280 M EUR annually. OneTick, under the One Health framework, aims to enhance the prevention, detection, and treatment of tick-borne diseases in urban areas. Work Package 1 investigates urban tick adaptation, assessing their abundance, species diversity, and pathogens. Work Package 2 examines tick-host-pathogen interactions to develop predictive models for disease spread. Work Package 3 aims to enhance diagnostics through the identification of disease biomarkers and the development of predictive models for survival rates. Lastly, Work Package 4 focuses on raising public health awareness through guidelines and educational campaigns to combat misinformation. In OneTick each participating organization contributes unique expertise, forming a radial structure that integrates diverse scientific perspectives and fosters harmonization of methodologies across disciplines and sectors. We plan to implement 90 PM of secondments, incl. 60 intersectoral and 30 interdisciplinary staff exchanges. Through secondments, we will disseminate best practices, enhance interoperability, and establish shared frameworks for tick-borne disease research and surveillance.

The main objective of this project is to develop a new curriculum in the field of Audiological Rehabilitation in order to increase the vocational skills of ENT doctors (Ear-Nose-Throat), Family Doctors, Audiologists, Nurses, Audiometricians, Hearing Aid Sales Representatives and other medical staff working on this field.It’s aimed to increase vocational skills, strengthen the self-improvement and the employment rate of the ENT Doctors, Family Doctors, Audiologists, Nurses, Audiometricians, Hearing Aid Sales Representatives and other medical staff working on this field even without considering their age and education background.By year of 2015, it is estimated that there are approximately 1.1 billion people having hearing loss in the world. Lots of studies in this field shows that 65 percent of these people have low level hearing loss, 30 percent have middle level hearing loss and 5 percent have advanced level of hearing loss. In Sweden it is notified that 14 percent of population of adults over 18 years old have hearing loss. All over the world, the 80 percent of people using hearing aid are geriatric patients over 65 years old. According to Turkey Statistics Institute January 2015 data population of Turkey is 78.152000 and 8.2 percent of the population is over 65 years old. Although number of geriatric patients having hearing aid is high, according to data of Association of Hearing Aid Dealers and Association of Hearing Aid Manufacturers, only 20 percent of these patients buy hearing aids and a few of them use the hearing aid regularly. The low rate usage of hearing aid in Turkey is caused by the absence of formal education and curriculum in occupational groups relevant to hearing aids Education curriculum. The similar curriculum studies, like the one that is planned to be produced by this project, have been applied successfully in the field of different health disciplines for instance in diabetics.With the studies that are planned in this Project, we, with our European Partners, aim to increase the vocational skills of persons who works in the field of audiology that directly relates with the 10% of society. In this way, it’s also targeted to prevent the functional and psychosocial disabilities, which is raised by hearing loss, of the society.Although the necessary criteria for selecting the appropriate hearing aid is declared, in Turkey, there is no study performed on the usage and benefits of the hearing aids. Also, there is no implementation of hearing aids in the hospitals. The only implementations are performed in the hearing aid dealer centers. The point to consider is that there isn’t even any education and training curriculum applied in the universities or ministry of health hospitals in order to increase the vocational skills of these occupational groups.Therefore, with the planning studies in this Project, it’s aimed to create innovation approaches about vocational education, and to increase the dissemination of best practices in the field of audiological rehabilitation in Turkey and Europa. The Project will also effect and increase the usage ratio of hearing aid that is very low in Turkey and Europa. With the project, It’s intended to rehabilitate the psychosocial problems of elderly people which may occur because of hearing loss and to increase the quality of life, by developing solutions to each items that are mentioned above.As it's mentioned earlier, there is no curriculum related to Audiological Rehabilitation for occupational groups in Turkey. Therefore, it's essential to carry out such a partnership from different EU countries in order to evaluate the best practices applied in these countries and create such curriculums with the help of these expert partners.For the project partnership, there is 3 academic partners and 1 IT partner. The coordinator is Sense-Science Association and other partners are UMC Utrecht, UMB from Poland and Oran Teknoloji from Turkey. These partners are selected according to their expertise on the tasks and activities that they will perform in the project.During the project, the Steering Committee will be formed up from the partner organization in the lead of Sense-Science-Association. The Steering Committee is main responsible of the management and implementation of the project. The Committee will lead to form different control and monitor groups for tracking and evaluating the objectives and activities of the project. These groups are Academic, Dissemination, Quality, Finance and Budget Groups etc. All these groups will have direct responsibilities to the Committee.After the project has been performed, it's believed that a new curriculum and training methodology for the occupational groups will be created and integrated to the existing health and education system. By raising awareness on Audiological Rehabilitation, the low usage rate of hearing aids will increase and this will directly increase the cost-effectiveness of hearing aid sales.