Genomics and Mechanisms in Translational Medicine Doctoral Programme

Project Information

GenomMed

Grant agreement ID: 740264

DOI

10.3030/740264

Project closed

EC signature date 29 March 2017

Start date 1 April 2017

End date 31 December 2022

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 2 511 360,00

EU contribution

€ 1 255 680,00

Coordinated by

ITA-SUOMEN YLIOPISTO
Finland

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - GenomMed (Genomics and Mechanisms in Translational Medicine Doctoral Programme)

Reporting period: 2019-04-01 to 2022-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

European and global health care is faced with a growing burden of major age-associated diseases such as cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (including type 2 diabetes and obesity) and neurological diseases (including Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and post-traumatic epilepsy). The objective of research in this doctoral program was to produce internationally significant findings which affect the prevention, diagnostics and treatment of the diseases studied, and which support cooperation between the university and businesses and the emergence of new companies.

New means of diagnosis and treatment are needed to survive the challenges in health care. Genomics focuses on utilizing –“omics” technologies, such as genetics, transcriptomics, epigenetics, proteomics and metabolomics approaches to study genomics in an integrative manner. These methods were used to perform target and pathway analysis to identify key genomic mechanisms relevant to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and neurosciences.

The objective of the GenomMed doctoral program was to train international experts
• who aim to solve health care -related questions in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and neurosciences,
• who are wanted in the European job market, and
• who are future research leaders in translational genomics.

The aim of the program was that the graduates of GenomMed are wanted employees in Europe at all career stages, thereby strengthening the human capital in Europe and increasing its competitiveness and attractiveness as a business location on global scale.

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

In the beginning, 12 ESRs were selected for the program in the University of Eastern Finland. Four ESRs graduated by the end of 2022. Due to an unforeseen situation, one ESR did not complete their period in the program. The rest are expected to graduate during 2023-2024. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 5 ESRs were able to complete their secondment in another university.

Each ESR was a part of one local research group, and each ESR had at least two supervisors. The main supervisor, who was the PI of the research group, had a full responsibility for the overall management of the ESRs training and research project. Additional supervisors guided the ESRs related to their own scientific expertise. The main supervisor together with co-supervisors offered advice and guidance to the ESR towards the completion of the PhD degree. Working with the ESRs, they helped them to prepare appropriate ambitious personal career development plans and provided feedback on the research work progress, on the writing of scientific research articles and on presentations of the research results in seminars. The quality and efficacy of the supervision and progress of each ESRs was monitored and assessed annually by a follow-up query. The main supervisor and ESR were required to discuss the results together.

The transferable skills curriculum provided ESRs an opportunity to acquire skills needed in pursuing career paths after their initial researcher training. All ESRs also completed research ethics courses during their studies.
All publications made in the GenomMed doctoral program were open access. During the program, 27 peer-reviewed scientific articles, one book chapter and one conference proceeding were published. ESRs attended events 89 times. They held 55 poster presentations and 30 oral presentations.

All public defenses of dissertations were advertised on the GenomMed Twitter account and streamed online for the public.

While no IP during the program was created, significant advances in the scientific fields of magnetic resonance image segmentation, effects of genetic variants of neurogenerative diseases, mainly Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia and contribution of nutrient-related metabolites to clinical phenotypes were identified.

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)

The GenomMed program aimed to train international experts that have capabilities to solve health care -related questions in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and in neurosciences.

The research groups and supervisors of the program were part of the UEF’s strategic profile area “Ageing, lifestyles and health” and belonged to strategically significant Research Communities which are of a high scientific standard, generating interdisciplinary research knowledge and solutions to global challenges. The ESRs also had access to state-of-the-art infrastructure during their studies.

Therefore, the ESRs who have already graduated and those who will in the near future will have a very strong scientific background and skills to create solutions and innovations to develop novel treatments in the European and global environment. We expect the ESRs to be wanted experts in the European job market and future research leaders in translational genomics ant therefore enhance the R&I input for the European economy and society.

Openly shared access to data sets and software can be exploited by the international research community in the future.

ESR in the middle of laboratory work.