The potential of agroecological farming systems to master many of todays challenges to the environment, economy, health, and society can be significantly promoted by coupling with digital tools and technologies. PATH2DEA is committed to unlocking digitalisations catalysing power to foster European agricultures transition towards enhanced sustainability. It will build on farmers competences and views and match them with the rich repertoire of digital solutions already available for agriculture, aimed at tailoring digital technologies to users needs and fostering wide-range adoption of digital agroecological farming in the EU and associated countries. Strategic engagement by multiple actors includes early adopters of digital agroecological farming represented by six Showcase farms located in different pedo-climatic regions, with hands-on experience for solid consensus validation of the projects conclusions. PATH2DEA is deeply rooted in the European Agroecology Innovation Ecosystem and will establish itself amidst key players and proven instruments to mediate and connect among disciplines and sectors with a clear ethical-societal perspective. Via interactive discussion rounds, specific situations regarding digital technology uptake and use will be explored and brought to consideration by actors and stakeholders for increasing awareness and understanding. PATH2DEA will deliver a robust knowledge base in the frame of an Open Source Repository of digital tools and technologies in agroecology with decision support functionalities and a well-aligned R&I Roadmap for guiding digital agroecology transition. Finally, PATH2DEA will use its results for bridging towards the upcoming European Agroecology Partnership.

Cardiac disease remains a major societal and healthcare burden that affect nearly two million European citizens every year. The REBORN project brings together a consortium of six scientific, four SME, and two large company partners who are committed to making a step-change to the development of medical devices for cardiac applications for the treatment of people who have suffered from a heart attack (myocardial infarction, MI). A MI causes fibrosis in the heart walls, which impedes cardiac function and means there is a high risk of subsequent heart failure post-MI. There are no current treatment options to address this major clinical problem. The REBORN project will use smart and multifunctional biomaterials to deliver a new medical device in the form of a cardiac patch, to be applied to the heart in order to stimulate and support local heart tissue remodelling. The piezoelectric patch will electromechanically couple with the heart and deliver anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic and cardiomyocyte proliferative factors on demand, with drug release triggered by ultrasonic (US) stimulation from outside the body. Development of the device will be based on new smart multifunctional materials: electrospun piezoelectric fibres combined with smart carriers designed to work in harmony with the US. To prepare the ground for exploitation, the patch will be extensively characterised in vitro and in vivo. Accelerating the development of the patch requires an effective in vitro model for experimentation, and novel 3D bioprinting techniques will be exploited to create a 3D in vitro model in the form of a tissue engineered tubular heart chamber, capable of pumping fluid using cell contractile forces. This will give a new in vitro model capable of both functional and structural testing. The REBORN project will develop, validate and prepare for the exploitation new treatment options for post-MI fibrosis and new processes for cardiac therapy development, addressing major unmet cli

Magnetically actuated untethered microrobots have been proposed in the state of the art since more than a decade towards the dream of accessing remote hard to reach areas of the human body. Nevertheless, some challenges still have to be faced before any microrobot-based therapeutic paradigm can reach the clinical practice. MAMBO (Magnetic swArms for liver chemoeMBOlization) aims at facing some of these challenges by targeting a specific clinical application, namely liver chemoembolization. The proposal stems from the idea to improve cancer chemotherapy and existing chemoembolization procedures by using magnetic forces to collect chemotherapeutics in the target region (through swarm control methods) and to controllably and stably embolize tumor blood vessels. Drug loaded soft magnetic microrobots featured by responsiveness to ultrasound will be developed to this aim. The responsivity to US will enable microrobot swelling and controlled vessel occlusion and at the same time their ultrasound-based imaging to guarantee their tracking in vivo. Magnetic swarm control techniques will be employed to enable microrobots locomotion in biologically-relevant fluids. MAMBO will last 36 months and is articulated in a 24 months outgoing phase carried out at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK – partner organization) and in a 12 months return phase in Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA – beneficiary organization). In the framework of the project I will try to deepen my skills in magnetic swarm control by benefiting from the major expertise of Prof. Li Zhang’s group. At the same time, I will share with them my background in medical robotics and drug delivery systems towards the development and testing of a novel therapeutic paradigm for cancer treatment. During the return phase at SSSA I will focus on the US imaging of the developed microrobots thanks to the Interaction with Prof. Menciassi’s group and to their expertise in US-based technologies.

The BRIGHT-NIGHT 2022-2023 proposal, within the framework of the European Researchers' Night, aims at bringing research and researchers closer to the general public of the Tuscan region. In fact, the BRIGHT-NIGHT Consortium includes the main Tuscan universities whose decennial collaboration has already produced very successful ERN events. This objective will be achieved by showcasing research projects, with a specific focus on sustainability and societal challenges, through a rich and inclusive program of activities in open and public events throughout Tuscany. We will increase the awareness of how scientific research impacts on the daily lives of citizens, on the active role it can play in shaping the future and fostering young people’s interest in scientific studies with a gender balance approach, mostly in STEAM. After a set of preparatory events, the core activities will take place the last Friday/Saturday of September 2022/2023: hundreds of interactive, funny and inspiring activities in the cities, which will be populated by science hubs (shows, hands-on experiments, games, competitions, and exhibitions). To better stress the centrality of a joint European effort on the societal and sustainability challenges of our times, the event will revolve around the Horizon Europe missions, with particular emphasis on their interdisciplinary character. The two-year duration of the proposal will allow the involvement of students from primary and secondary schools encouraging to deliver a scientific presentation during the Nights: they will be supported by academic researchers, who will help them to select and prepare a topic. This activity aims at creating a long-term connection between researchers, (which will be trained on scientific communication skills for the purpose), young students and the general public. Such connection will make science research more "familiar", more understandable, and ultimately strengthen people’s trust in scientific methods.