Centre for Excellence in Diagnostic and Advanced Therapeutics based on Extracellular Vesicles

Project Information

EVCA

Grant agreement ID: 101079264

DOI

10.3030/101079264

Project closed

EC signature date 9 September 2022

Start date 1 November 2022

End date 30 April 2026

Funded under

• Widening participation and spreading excellence

Total cost

€ 1 487 209,13

EU contribution

€ 1 487 208,75

Coordinated by

UNIVERSIDADE NOVA DE LISBOA
Portugal

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EVCA (Centre for Excellence in Diagnostic and Advanced Therapeutics based on Extracellular Vesicles)

Reporting period: 2022-11-01 to 2024-01-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Advancing Medical Research with Extracellular Vesicles

EVCA, which stands for Extracellular Vesicles in Clinical Applications, is a project focused on using tiny particles called extracellular vesicles (EVs) to improve diagnostics and therapies. The project's full title is "Centre for Excellence in Diagnostic and Advanced Therapeutics based on Extracellular Vesicles".

The main goal of EVCA is to help NOVA Medical School (NMS) become a world-renowned center for using EVs in medical research and treatments. To achieve this, NMS is collaborating with two top research institutions: Institut Curie in France and CIC bioGUNE in Spain.

Through this partnership, EVCA aims to:

1. Combine the diverse knowledge and experience from each institution.
2. Share the best practices in research and training.
3. Expand collaborative networks.
4. Enhance the skills and management of researchers at NMS.
5. Establish new medical research areas with focus on EVs.

In essence, EVCA is working to push the boundaries of medical science by making NMS a leader in the innovative use of extracellular vesicles for clinical purposes.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, EVCA consortium members have executed a wide range of activities:

1. Seed money for internal projects targeting medical questions by applying EV research was provided through a competitive call.
2. Training of senior and early-career researchers in state-of-the-art EV research methodologies.
3. A summer school was organized, which will soon take place at NMS.
4. Staff exchange programs were executed to improve the management of research.
5. Scientific conferences, outreach activities to the general public, and participation in national and international conferences were supported through competitive calls.
6. Applications for international grants were submitted to enable the consortium to continue activities in the long run. A Marie Curie staff exchange program, were approved.
7. One provisional patent was submitted, and another one is in the planning stage.
8. Three research papers were accepted, and three are currently under review.
9. Two clinical consortia were established to test novel EV-based diagnostic methods for cancer.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

EVCA has developed novel quality control measures, which are essential for moving EV research to the clinic. Furthermore, a novel EV enrichment methodology was established, which we have demonstrated can be interfaced with omics technologies. Finally, we are moving forward in our attempts to provide evidence of clinical usability for novel EV-based early detection methods for cancer.