Health and disease are regulated, to a large extent, by our immune system. The immune system not only protects the body from infectious disease, but is involved in a number of conditions of increasing incidence and morbidity, such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and allergies. In cancer, the immune system can be both cause and cure; it contributes to chronic inflammation that promotes tumour development, but it can also provide the ultimate weapon against metastatic disease. Thus, the development of ways to harness, direct or restrain immune responses has great potential for enhancing human health. Understanding the mechanisms that control the abundance of different lymphocyte (a type of white blood cell) subsets is key to therapeutically targeting immune responses. Ultimately, this understanding must be sought in quantitative terms, explaining how the rates of cell proliferation, differentiation, survival and death are determined by molecular mechanisms and cellular interactions. Current immunological research is beginning to combine experimental approaches with mathematical analysis to quantitate immune dynamics. A severe obstacle to more rapid progress in this area is the lack of appropriately trained scientists. In this ETN, European scientists, with a rich track record in collaborative research and training, have come together to deliver a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary and intersectoral research training programme for 15 early stage researchers (ESRs) in Quantitative T cell Immunology and Immunotherapy (QuanTII).

There are three main reasons for an immediate innovation action to apply big data technologies in Healthcare. Firstly, a Healthy nation is a Wealthy nation! An improvement in health leads to economic growth through long-term gains in human and physical capital, which ultimately raises productivity and per capita GDP. Secondly, Healthcare is one of the most expensive sectors, which accounts for 10% of the EU’s GDP continuously becoming more expensive. Thirdly, as healthcare is traditionally very conservative with adopting ICT, while big healthcare data is becoming available, the expected impact of applying big data technologies in Healthcare is enormous. BigMedilytics will transform Europe’s Healthcare sector by using state-of-the-art Big Data technologies to achieve breakthrough productivity in the sector by reducing cost, improving patient outcomes and delivering better access to healthcare facilities simultaneously, covering the entire Healthcare Continuum – from Prevention to Diagnosis, Treatment and Home Care throughout Europe. BigMedilytics produces: • A Big Data Healthcare Analytics Blueprint (defining platforms and components), which enables data integration and innovation spanning all the key players across the Healthcare Data Value Chains • Instantiations of the Blueprint which implement BigMedilytics concepts across 12 large-scale pilots accounting for an estimated 86% of deaths and 77% of the disease burden in Europe • The Best “Big Data technology and Healthcare policy” Practices related to big data technologies, new business models and European and national healthcare data policies and regulations. BigMedilytics will maximize the impact by using its Big Data Healthcare Analytics Blueprint and the Best Practices to scale-up the concepts demonstrated in the 12 pilots, to the whole Healthcare sector in Europe. It will use health records of more than 11 million patients across 8 countries and data from other sectors such as insurance and public sector.

Light interaction with biomaterials is the driving mechanism of fundamental biological processes, from photosynthesis to DNA photodamage, and is a powerful tool in biomedicine for analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The main goal of LightDyNAmics is to achieve a complete understanding of the ultrafast dynamical processes at the molecular scale induced by UV light absorption in DNA, and to unveil the mechanisms leading to photodamage of the genetic code. At the same time, our project will transfer this knowledge on light-matter interaction to a broad class of optoelectronic materials, highly relevant for Europe`s high-tech industries. LightDyNAmics is an academia-industry research environment training 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) by crossing the traditional border between theoretical and experimental expertise. This will be achieved by performing independent, yet interrelated and complementary research projects focussed on photoactivated dynamics of DNA, and by developing a variety of new spectroscopic and computational methods. For all the ESRs, personalised training in advanced techniques will be combined with a broad common interdisciplinary background on dynamical processes in bio-macromolecules. The consortium brings together 10 leading academic groups with multidisciplinary expertise (chemistry, physics, biology) and a unique blend of experimental and computational skills. 6 innovative companies, from SMEs specialised in click-chemistry and in biosensors to a pharma industry, will be fully integrated in the research and training programme and help promote technological exploitation of its results. LightDyNAmics will develop innovative molecular probes for DNA/protein interaction, paving the way to new diagnostic tools and new drugs. The understanding of light interaction with organic molecules will impact on basic sciences, from biochemistry to nanosciences, and on industrial applications ranging from healthcare to photonic technologies.

The endo-lysosomal system is essential to acquire lipids and nutrients according to the need of the cell and, subsequently, to maintain metabolic homeostasis. The strong connection between the endo-lysosomal system and metabolism is reflected in the observations that defects in this system are correlated with cardio-metabolic disorders, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The molecular mechanisms that interconnect the endo-lysosomal system with metabolism are, however, poorly understood. This can be largely explained by the fact that (1) endo-lysosomal and metabolic research are carried out independent of each other and (2) the number of model systems to study endo-lysosomal processes at an organismal and clinical level are limited. It is the ambition of EndoConnect to change this by bringing top scientists and industrial partners together to train early stage researchers in interdisciplinary research, with the focus on translating key findings from cellular and animal models to patients with cardio-metabolic diseases. It is our mission to: (1) understand the molecular organization and regulation of endo-lysosomal processes, (2) elucidate how metabolism and endo-lysosomal processes are intertwined, (3) understand how defects in the endo-lysosomal system contribute to the development of cardio-metabolic diseases and, finally, (4) how the endo-lysosomal system contributes to the efficiency of therapeutics. EndoConnect will provide an international training program for early stage researchers to acquire knowledge and state-of-the-art scientific, technical, and transferable skills to connect molecular and cell biology research with physiology and biomedical research towards translation. We expect that EndoConnect will increase our understanding of the molecular interrelation of the endo-lysosomal system with cardio-metabolic diseases, which will pave the road for novel diagnostics and therapeutics.