Over 30% of EU citizens at vulnerable stages and situations in life are at increased risk to transgress from healthy weight to overweight and further to obesity. Though many interventions to tackle obesity have been proposed, they have rarely been effective. The aim of HealthyW8 is to advance the efficacy of current and future efforts and investments in obesity prevention initiatives across Europe. Most interventions suffer from not adapting to personal context (e.g. socioeconomic aspects, host-biological factors, environment, dietary preferences, fitness level etc.), focus only on diet or physical activity alone, do especially overlook emotional aspects, and fail to engage and motivate the user. Thus, initiatives on obesity prevention in policy and practice are often of marginal impact. HealthyW8 will address these shortcomings by iteratively developing, together with stakeholders, a digital-based healthy lifestyle recommender for evidence-based, tailored interventions and tools including a human digital twin to bridge the gap between science, societal actors and stakeholders (e.g. healthcare professionals, food industries, policymakers) and EU citizens. The targeted populations are those undergoing transitions, i.e. schoolchildren (5-10 y, and their parents), young adults (18-25 y) and the elderly (>65 y). In the mid-term, we estimate that with 200,000 HealthyW8 users, we will prevent 10,000 obesity cases/y. In the long run, the impact will be maximized through adopting the project’s proposed methodology, platform and tools by as many EU institutions and entities as possible. HealthyW8 is a highly experienced, synergistic and complementary consortium that will built on a previously developed digital dietary app (LIFANA) and draw on transdisciplinary research in pan-EU multicentre pilots and long-term randomized control trials to achieve its overarching objective of increasing impact of current and future obesity prevention interventions and policies in the EU.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been identified as a major threat to mankind in the 21st century. Thus, there is a critical need to develop new antimicrobials and new delivery strategies to preserve the viability of the existing antibiotics. One such strategy is the use of molecular nanomachines (MNMs) for targeted and controlled inactivation of bacterial pathogens. REBELLION aims to develop new light responsive MNMs against bacterial pathogens with minimal damage to mammalian tissues. This strategy will provide a therapeutic advantage in terms of efficacy and selectivity compared with current therapeutics while minimizing the potential for the development of AMR. The proposed research programme combines (1) chemical synthesis of new MNMs, (2) assessment of their efficacy against clinically relevant bacterial pathogens, (3) evaluation of their safety to mammalian cells and (4) in vivo efficacy testing. The results obtained have the potential to lead to an alternative, entirely novel class of antimicrobials (MNMs) and to become a stepping stone towards future clinical trials. REBELLION is a vital, multidisciplinary and international endeavor that will bring together this fellow’s core expertise in microbial photobiology with (1) antibiotic resistance and infection at IdISBa (beneficiary, Spain), (2) state-of-the-art technology in light-driven antimicrobial therapy, and experience in in vitro and in vivo drug efficacy testing championed by GAMA Therapeutics (host, USA) and (3) expert knowledge in nanomachine synthesis by the Nanotechnology Department of Rice University (co-host, USA). I will be trained by top-level scientists and widen my network and competencies through advanced training in nanotechnology, infection, and drug development and testing. This action will catalyze my career into an independent and mature researcher with an eclectic skill set geared toward producing a unique contribution to European excellence in antimicrobial discovery technology.

CAREPATH aims to improve chronic disease management and medication persistence by transforming the care ecosystem, ensuring personalised support for better health outcomes, and reducing healthcare costs. We focus on improving medication adherence and persistence for three prevalent chronic conditions: Obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2), Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including chronic heart failure (CHF), across six diverse European countries: Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden. These countries represent various EU healthcare environments and economic statuses, emphasising the need for tailored approaches to patient care. Our strategy involves integrating localised non-digital and digital health solutions to address the unique healthcare delivery challenges in each region. The CAREPATH toolbox collects, combines, and customises existing solutions into adaptable modules for broad application in both primary and secondary care settings. This toolbox will be tested in four studies across two settings in all six countries in both primary and secondary care. Three pilot studies in different regions as well as a proof-of-concept study in Germany will be conducted. This comprehensive evaluation, including HTA, aims to assess the toolbox's implementation and effectiveness, with a strong focus on learning what works for what groups of patients in which setting. Recognizing the significant impact of obesity, particular emphasis is placed on treatment adherence and persistence of medications that facilitate weight loss, such as dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonists, but CAREPATH studies also include patients using lipid-lowering drugs, insulin, and SGLT2 inhibitors. Our goal is to empower patients by improving communication and data sharing among patients, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders, thereby supporting the entire ecosystem and alleviating the burden on healthcare systems.

Our project “Enhanced networking on antimicrobial resistance surveillance with NGS” brings together Semmelweis University (SU) and Klinika Za Infektivne Bolesti „Dr. Fran Mihaljevic (BFM) with two internationally leading research institutions, Laboratory of Medical Microbiology (LMM), University of Antwerp (UAntwerp) and the Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa) , on the topic of Antimicrobial resistance surveillance with whole genome sequencing (WGS) in correlation next-generation sequencing techniques. Our aim in AmReSu is to strengthen, to the highest European level, Semmelweis University (SU)’s and Klinika Za Infektivne Bolesti „Dr. Fran Mihaljevic” (BFM)’s scientific excellence and innovation capacity in Antimicrobial resistance surveillance and to set-up an ‘Antimicrobial resistance surveillance vision’ in Hungary and Croatia. Strenghtening antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance is also in line with the Hungarian National Smart Specialisation Strategy and the Croatian National Programe for Antibiotic Resistance Control. AMR bacterial infections are a global threat, they are responsible for increased morbidity and mortality rates in Hungary and Croatia, especially in cases of nosocomial infection. Many previously manageable bacterial infections are becoming increasingly hard to treat. Rising rates of resistance amplify the morbidity and economic burden associated with infections. An estimated 700,000 deaths attributable to AMR every year in the world, and a projected 10 million deaths per year by 2050 in the absence of additional control measures. The core activities of our project are knowledge transfer, exchanges of best practices via a number of institutional networking and training activities, including workshops, conferences, summer schools. to a new level, promoting research excellence in AMR and Microbiome with strong societal impact. Our proposed actions will strengthen joint research programmes in Europe.