Overall, all the predicted actions were achieved during the duration of the project. Below, a breakdown of the different activities, including exploitation and dissemination actions, is made:
Achieved Actions in terms of Staff exchange (SE), Experts visits (EV), Short-term trainings (STA), Joint research project applications (JA), Joint summer schools and workshops (WS), Scientific retreat, Participation in complementary skills courses offered by the high performing institutions:
- UMINHO visits to KCL: Mariana Cerqueira and Mariana Malta (SE)
- UMINHO visits to RCSI: Helena Moreira and Maria Goreti Fernandes (SE)
- KCL visits to UMINHO: Ajay Mishra, Matteo Rudan, Emanuel Rognoni and Eamonn Morrison(EV, STA)
- RCSI visits to UMINHO: Rosanne Raftery and Fergal O'Brien (EV, STA)
- Approved joint application to a M-ERANET project call. (JA)
- Joint application to a H2020-MSCA-ITN-2017 project call (rejected) and H2020-MSCA-ITN-2018 project call (under evaluation). (JA)
- Gene2Skin Winter School 2017 in Porto. (WS)
- Gene2Skin Summer School 2018 in Porto. (WS)
- Workshop 1: “Tailoring of 3D gene-activated matrices” was held by RCSI (WS)
- Workshop 2: “New Tools for cutaneous wound healing and clinical progress in diseased skin” took place at KCL (WS)
- Workshop 3: “Mechanobiology and Tissue Engineering of Skin” at World Congress of Biomechanics (WS)
- Gene2Skin scientific retreat in Douro, Portugal.
Achieved Actions in terms of Dissemination/communication actions in Hospitals and Patients Organizations/Groups:
- Alexandra P. Marques participation European Wound Management Association (EWMA) meetings.
- Scientific collaboration with EB House Austria.
- Interaction with DEBRA Portugal.
- Interaction with the Portuguese Society of Podiatry
- Project Newsletters
Achieved Actions in terms of Generation of IP (patents/disclosures filling), Industry and Investors collaboration agreements, Joint applications to innovation programmes, Involvement in expert advisory boards, Contact with regulatory authorities:
- Collaboration agreement between UMINHO and Clinica Saúde Viável.
- Collaboration between UMINHO with the company IZERTIS.
- Bi-lateral meetings (UMINHO/Different companies) at EWMA industry exhibition in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
- UMINHO staff part of a EWMA committee that wrote a document on advanced therapies in wound management.
- Fergal O’Brien is a former member of HPRA and was invited to give a keynote at the HPRA Innovation Day, Dublin, 2017.
- Alexandra P. Marques part of the EWMA council.
- Rui L. Reis global president of TERMIS.
- Submitted patent and preparation of others.
- Participation of Fergal O’Brien (RCSI) in a discussion panel of Knowledge Transfer Ireland 2017 'Accelerating Ideas' Summit.
- Participation of companies in Gene2Skin events: GenoSkin, France, Aurealis Pharma, Switzerland/Finland, Organogenesis Inc, USA.
Achieved Actions in terms of Education and transfer of highly-skilled researchers to industry, Definition of an exploitation pipeline, Dissemination/communication actions involving industrial players:
- The 2016 Gene2Skin conference was organized back-to-back with the industry-focused TERMSTEM meeting.
- Participation in EWMA industry exhibition in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
- Submitted patent and preparation of others.
- Participation of companies in Gene2Skin events: GenoSkin, France, Aurealis Pharma, Switzerland/Finland, Organogenesis Inc, USA.
Achieved actions in terms of Dissemination actions and Outreach activities:
- Project website
- Participation in relevant conferences.
- Organization of Symposia in different conferences.
- Regenerative Medicine International Symposium organized by RCSI in Bahrein.
- Talks at seminars organized by undergraduate students.
- Press release related with Alexandra P. Marques and Rogério P. Pirraco ERC grants and Alexandra P. Marques (UMINHO) as commissioner of Ciência 2018: National Summit in Science and Technology
- Display by RCSI at InspireFest 2016.
- Display by RCSI at National Ploughing Championships 2016.
- Social Media dissemination