Vascular anomalies (VAs) is a group of rare diseases defined by blood- or lymph vessel dysfunction causing chronic pain, disabilities, and even sudden death, and for which effective treatments are lacking. The European V.A. Cure network aims to address this unmet medical need by uncovering core mechanisms of disease initiation and maintenance and by leveraging this information for establishing novel therapeutic strategies for VAs. V.A. Cure has assembled 7 world-leading academic laboratories and 5 companies, which will apply an intersectoral four-step approach: (1) identification of novel genes involved in VAs in patients, (2) dissection of molecular mechanisms behind the diseases by in vitro modelling, (3) in-depth analysis of tissular mechanisms in pathophysiological conditions through in vivo models, and (4) pre-clinical testing of identified treatment strategies. The knowledge gained will not only be relevant for VAs but also for understanding aberrant vascular function in other vascular-related diseases. The composition of V.A. Cure and close interaction between the 14 ESRs, through secondments in academia and industry, guarantee a unique intersectoral training program at the highest level, ensuring a comprehensive perception of research and drug/technology development in pharma industry/biotech and academia. ESRs will be trained in a plethora of cutting-edge technologies including next-generation sequencing (up to single-cell RNA-Seq), CRISPR-Cas genome editing, generation of animal models with inducible deletion and mosaic analyses, generation of iPSCs, microfluidics, in vivo phage display to identify endothelial targets, and light sheet-, confocal-, and multiphoton live-imaging. In combination with advanced training in management and communication including writing, presentation, e-media and outreach, the graduates of the V.A. Cure network will be future leaders in vascular research, and also highly competitive candidates for positions outside academia.

Cancer is rapidly becoming the most frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in the EU, accounting for a quarter of all deaths in EU. Without breakthroughs in treatment, cancer is likely to remain one of the biggest killers in the 21st century. Immunotherapy of cancer by checkpoint inhibitors, vaccines or adoptive T cell therapy is coming of age and has the potential to cure cancer, but is still hampered by some major limitations. For instance, Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT) with unmanipulated or engineered T cells (TCR-transgenic and CAR-T cells) has indeed demonstrated success in the treatment of patients affected by leukemias, but is much less effective against lymphomas and solid tumors. One likely explanation is that we do not educate the right type of anti-tumor T cells. The T cells considered to be the gold standard for tumor therapy have stem cell memory features, but the proper and safe way to generate these fit T cells for clinical purposes is still an unresolved matter. Here we propose an advanced transformative technology termed INCITE, utilizing a novel high-resolution 3D microfabrication technology to engineer a specially tailored microenvironment that will be inhabited by cells central for T cells education in order to generate the fittest anti-tumor T cells for advanced adoptive T cell therapy. INCITE will bring together a transdisciplinary consortium capable of developing this innovative platform by combining state-of-the-art 3D printing, computer modeling, bioengineering, bioinformatics, immunology, developmental and cancer biology approaches, toward the development of a functional immune niche for selection and expansion of tumor-rejecting T cells. The INCITE platform will revolutionize the treatment of cancer patients with ACT, with a profound impact on the quality of life and well-being of millions of people.