Objective
Modern medicine offers a wide range of diagnostic tools to detect disease and estimate risk, yet it lacks a standardized method to measure an individual’s adaptive reserve, i.e. a systemic biological capacity that determines how the organism maintains stability when challenged. This adaptive reserve reflects the dynamic regulatory potential of the system, rather than the presence or absence of pathology. Despite its central role in health trajectories, it remains indirectly inferred rather than directly quantified.
ReACT (Resilience Acute Challenge Test) is a functional ex vivo assay designed to quantify this intrinsic adaptive capacity. Using peripheral EDTA whole blood, aliquots are exposed for a defined period to graded concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), generating a controlled oxidative challenge. LINE-1 methylation is quantified across doses and modelled as an individualized dose–response curve. From this parametric response, a Functional Adaptive Capacity Index is derived, capturing proportionality, stability, and deviation from calibrated reference geometry. The oxidative challenge serves as a calibrated biological probe to reveal intrinsic adaptive reserve.
ReACT will be validated in two structured validation models, cyclic therapeutic regimens and physiological load cycles, selected for their reproducible challenge–recovery dynamics and measurable short-term endpoints. These models enable rigorous assessment of assay robustness, reproducibility, and functional coherence within the PoC timeframe.
The project will deliver a standardized ex vivo protocol, reproducibility metrics, predefined performance thresholds, and a validated computational framework for index derivation, together with an intellectual property and preliminary regulatory positioning strategy. By converting adaptive reserve into a reproducible biological readout, ReACT advances the translational integration of adaptive capacity into defined decision-support contexts.
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2026-POC
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
20122 Milano
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.