Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SYS-LIFE (Systemic approaches to improve cardiometabolic and brain health during lifespan)
Reporting period: 2023-11-01 to 2025-10-31
Cardiometabolic and brain disorders such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, depression and related conditions remain among Europe’s most pressing long-term health challenges. In the EU, non-communicable diseases account for the majority of disease burden, costing over €1,600 billion annually and causing over 48% of deaths and millions of lost disability-adjusted life-years. STEM research is essential to understand mechanisms and develop new diagnostics and therapies, yet a significant part of the burden is preventable and strongly shaped by behaviour, social determinants and unequal access to effective prevention and care. At the same time, evidence increasingly points to shared risk factors and systemic interactions between cardiometabolic and brain health across the lifespan. The strategic and policy context therefore prioritises prevention, early diagnosis, better treatment pathways and health equity, reflected in EU action on non-communicable diseases including the Commission’s “Healthier together” initiative, which explicitly targets health determinants, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and mental health and neurological disorders.
Systemic approaches to improve cardiometabolic and brain health during lifespan (SYS-LIFE) - a pioneering Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND Fellowship Programme hosted by the University of Turku (UTU) - responds to this context by enabling on research that can connect mechanisms, behaviours, and care across the lifespan, translating advances in imaging, data, AI, and biology into improved outcomes and more sustainable health systems. SYS-LIFE recruits 22 experienced researchers for 36-month fellowships through an open, international, merit-based process aligned with MSCA best practices. SYS-LIFE seeks to provide a new framework for international excellence in research and training: fellows design bottom-up projects, with research options encouraged to be interdisciplinary, intersectoral, longitudinal, or systemic, supported by cross-sector partners and dedicated Proof-of-Concept resources to accelerate valorisation and uptake. The programme’s goals are (i) breakthrough advances in human health within this field, (ii) scientific renewal and (iii) the development of the future leaders of tomorrow. A clear pathway to impact is built in: high-quality research outputs and open dissemination, plus structured training, secondments, and innovation support that enable results to progress toward new diagnostics, preventive strategies, and treatment concepts while strengthening Europe’s talent base in the field. The programme also integrates relevant social sciences and humanities via behavioural science perspectives and population-level evidence, including large cohort studies and sources on attitudes and behaviours (e.g. the European Social Survey) to improve understanding of real-world determinants, health inequalities, and implementation contexts.
Systemic approaches to improve cardiometabolic and brain health during lifespan (SYS-LIFE) - a pioneering Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND Fellowship Programme hosted by the University of Turku (UTU) - responds to this context by enabling on research that can connect mechanisms, behaviours, and care across the lifespan, translating advances in imaging, data, AI, and biology into improved outcomes and more sustainable health systems. SYS-LIFE recruits 22 experienced researchers for 36-month fellowships through an open, international, merit-based process aligned with MSCA best practices. SYS-LIFE seeks to provide a new framework for international excellence in research and training: fellows design bottom-up projects, with research options encouraged to be interdisciplinary, intersectoral, longitudinal, or systemic, supported by cross-sector partners and dedicated Proof-of-Concept resources to accelerate valorisation and uptake. The programme’s goals are (i) breakthrough advances in human health within this field, (ii) scientific renewal and (iii) the development of the future leaders of tomorrow. A clear pathway to impact is built in: high-quality research outputs and open dissemination, plus structured training, secondments, and innovation support that enable results to progress toward new diagnostics, preventive strategies, and treatment concepts while strengthening Europe’s talent base in the field. The programme also integrates relevant social sciences and humanities via behavioural science perspectives and population-level evidence, including large cohort studies and sources on attitudes and behaviours (e.g. the European Social Survey) to improve understanding of real-world determinants, health inequalities, and implementation contexts.
During the reporting period, SYS-LIFE successfully implemented the first full recruitment cycle and initiated the second, delivering the core scientific “engine” of the programme: two international, open calls recruiting 2×11 experienced researchers for 36-month fellowships via external peer review and a merit-based selection process. In practice, the first call opened in December 2023, closed on 31 January 2024, progressed through external evaluation, culminated in the Selection Committee meeting on 3 June 2024, after which the first cohort arrived from September. Recruitment delivered a highly international and diverse cohort, with selected researchers coming from Finland and Sweden plus India, China, Japan, Iran, Nigeria, Australia, and Malaysia, reflecting SYS-LIFE’s ambition to attract talent globally including from the Global South.
Scientifically, SYS-LIFE established a collaborative platform connecting cardiometabolic and brain health research across 43 research teams spanning the Faculties of Medicine, Science and Technology, supported by key infrastructures including Turku PET Centre and Turku Bioscience Centre. Fellows launched bottom-up projects applying systemic and life-course perspectives, linking mechanisms, behaviour and clinical pathways through multi-omics, advanced imaging (incl. PET/CT), AI, digital health monitoring, and population-level evidence. Example themes include gut–brain interactions, oral–cardiovascular connections, blood-pressure trajectories across the lifespan, atrial fibrillation proteomics, and AI-enabled wearable monitoring. To support high-quality implementation, SYS-LIFE delivered structured researcher development actions including an Induction Day, a Mentoring Day, and a dedicated “Data & Grants” training day, complemented by seminars and topic-focused sessions that strengthen methodology, research planning, and project execution. This was extended with cohort-level training such as the April Business & Academia day at Konttori, featuring company perspectives and SYS-LIFE pitches with Sanofi, Uniogen, Aurlide, Siemens Health, Orion and Misvik Biology, followed by sessions on project management, workplace communication, career transitions from academia to industry, and interdisciplinary expansion of fellows’ research. Early scientific excellence has also been visible through fellow achievements highlighted in programme news, including awards and recognitions at external scientific meetings.
Scientifically, SYS-LIFE established a collaborative platform connecting cardiometabolic and brain health research across 43 research teams spanning the Faculties of Medicine, Science and Technology, supported by key infrastructures including Turku PET Centre and Turku Bioscience Centre. Fellows launched bottom-up projects applying systemic and life-course perspectives, linking mechanisms, behaviour and clinical pathways through multi-omics, advanced imaging (incl. PET/CT), AI, digital health monitoring, and population-level evidence. Example themes include gut–brain interactions, oral–cardiovascular connections, blood-pressure trajectories across the lifespan, atrial fibrillation proteomics, and AI-enabled wearable monitoring. To support high-quality implementation, SYS-LIFE delivered structured researcher development actions including an Induction Day, a Mentoring Day, and a dedicated “Data & Grants” training day, complemented by seminars and topic-focused sessions that strengthen methodology, research planning, and project execution. This was extended with cohort-level training such as the April Business & Academia day at Konttori, featuring company perspectives and SYS-LIFE pitches with Sanofi, Uniogen, Aurlide, Siemens Health, Orion and Misvik Biology, followed by sessions on project management, workplace communication, career transitions from academia to industry, and interdisciplinary expansion of fellows’ research. Early scientific excellence has also been visible through fellow achievements highlighted in programme news, including awards and recognitions at external scientific meetings.