NANAQUA emerges at the forefront of addressing the global water crisis, leveraging nanotechnology and nano(functionalized) materials (NMs) for cutting-edge water treatment solutions. In tackling the societal challenge posed by contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), NANAQUA addresses the risks these pollutants, including endocrine-disrupting compounds, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, and pharmaceuticals, pose to freshwater resources and ecosystems. With over 500 European monitoring sites reporting pollutant concentrations harmful to aquatic life, the urgency for effective solutions is clear. NANAQUA's approach transcends current wastewater treatment systems, which inadequately remove CECs, by integrating nanotechnology into (photo)chemical and biological degradation systems. NANAQUA's solution further involves developing smart nanosensors for real-time water quality monitoring and generating insights in toxicity of nanomaterials and CECs. This strategy promises a comprehensive improvement in water purification effectiveness, aligning with the EU's Water Reuse Regulation and supporting sustainable resource management. The project establishes the first European doctoral training network dedicated to NMs integration in water treatment, training 15 professionals through an international, intersectoral, and interdisciplinary research program. This unique combination of training in (bio)chemical water treatment, materials science, (eco-)toxicology, and environmental sustainability assessment is pivotal for becoming experts in this field, granting highly valuable competencies for the job market. Environmentally, NANAQUA's long-term impact includes enhanced water treatment, reducing harmful CECs in aquatic systems, and thus protecting human health and promoting pollution-free habitats. Economically, it aligns with EU regulations, promising reduced costs, energy use, and job growth in the water treatment sector.

The unique properties of nanomaterials (NMs), relative to their bulk form, has seen them used in a rapidly increasing number of commercial applications. However, with these useful new properties of NMs come potential health and environmental hazards. Thus, as part of a responsible innovation approach, NMs potential risks must be assessed in parallel to exploitation of their benefits. Due to their enormous variability, NM risk assessment urgently needs advanced in silico methodologies capable of machine learning from limited experimental datasets. These in silico tools for NMs characterisation, exposure, hazard and risk assessment and sustainability and life cycle assessment, need to support implementation of existing regulatory guidelines and extend regulatory risk assessment to integrate the extensive new knowledge generated computationally. CompSafeNano’s overarching objective is thus to drive the development of integrated and universally applicable nanoinformatics models, with broad domains of applicability across NMs compositions and forms, that are directly usable by industry, especially SMEs, and regulators for NMs risk assessment and decision making. CompSafeNano will establish an extended safe-by-design paradigm that includes environmental sustainability (life cycle assessment) based on in silico predictions with experimental testing to validate the results. CompSafeNano has a clear set of objectives to deliver this vision of an in silico safe-by-design computational platform and will be in close communication with other EU projects to access existing data on NM hazard and integrate existing nanoinformatics and NMs risk governance platforms (i.e. within NanoCommons, NanoSolveIT & RiskGONE). Training activities will benefit both ESRs and ERs from participating organizations, with a strong focus on inter-sectoral exchange (SME-academia) and international collaboration, filling the well-recognised current skills gap in nanoinformatics and big data analytics.

Defects in DNA repair trigger a number of devastating health complications ranging from developmental abnormalities to the premature onset of age-related diseases, including the metabolic syndrome, neurodegeneration and cancer. To counteract genome instability, cells have evolved a battery of DNA repair mechanisms ensuring that their genome remains functionally intact and is faithfully transmitted to progeny. Recent work reveals that DNA repair factors play additional roles in vital biological processes, including nucleosome remodeling, chromatin architecture, RNA biogenesis or the transcription activation of genes involved in cellular reprogramming and growth. These recent discoveries have pushed the DNA repair field forward and towards new grounds requiring a series of sophisticated functional and multidisciplinary approaches. Based on these novel scientific paths, we have carefully designed the “aDDRess” consortium on the basis of past excellence of the individual participants and their relevance to the proposed field. The action addresses a major research topic i.e. DNA damage in development and disease with great socioeconomic impact in Europe and direct relevance to human health. The objectives of the program are: i. to create a European research platform of excellence in the field of DNA repair by integrating research from basic mechanisms to translational research applications, ii. to establish a Network dedicated to the high-quality training of ESRs promoting their independent careers and future employment prospects, iii. to transform our current successful, long-term collaborations into a stronger intellectual network and build durable links between the participating labs and the industry (SMEs). Understanding the relevance of genome maintenance pathways to human health will shed light onto the causal mechanisms of rare and widespread life-threatening diseases, including cancer.