The ELBA consortium comprises 9 beneficiaries and 12 partner organizations from 10 European countries. The research core of the ELBA consists of 4 work-packages executed through 15 individual research projects with 13 fellows recruited and hosted by academic beneficiaries and 2 fellows by non-academic beneficiaries. The project is supported by 2 work packages fully dedicated to fellows’ career development training, consortium management, and outreach activities. The ELBA successfully completed the implementation of the project, the recruitment of 15 ESRs, and achieved substantial progress within the project’s research core.
The main objective of the Technological Platform Development-WP1 is to provide technological advancement to extract clinically relevant information out of individual blood-based biosources. WP1 ESRs are investigating new isolation and detection methods to develop a multi-biosource combinatorial liquid biopsy assay. ESRs delivered the first and the second generation of assay protocols and datasheets, as well as a biomarker panel selection and assay specifications. We succeeded in achieving the planned milestone, i.e. the development of individual liquid biopsy lung cancer assays.
To address the need for developing diagnostic tests that will aid clinical decision making, ESRs will validate next-generation liquid biopsy tests using well-defined patient cohorts. WP2 (Standardization) projects resulted in the delivery of a first and second series of lung cancer (NSCLC) blood sample cohorts and the report on the first generation of validated assays. Also here we achieved the planned milestone, i.e. the developed combinatorial NSCLC detection assays.
The Computational Data Analysis work package-WP3 with 3 ESRs is dedicated to developing a customized computational grid and bioinformatics approaches that will enable biomarker discovery, assay validation, and data integration. WP3 ESRs specifically focused on developing tools and computation platforms for total RNA profiling, whole-genome and targeted sequencing data analysis and feature selection for improved biomarker selection. In WP3 we determine the best biomarker candidates using state of the art and novel machine learning methods. We were able to deliver the RNA, DNA, and epitranscriptomics reports as well as the “ELBA-BASE”: computational framework, resulting in finalization of the milestones, i.e. presentation and release of the top biomarker candidates and the integrated computational ELBA grid.
In close collaboration with ERSs from WP1 and WP2, 2 ESRs appointed at our commercial partners are working towards the development of liquid biopsy platforms that can be implemented commercially. Their projects are related to Integration and Implementation (WP4) of standardized assays into diagnostics tests, including a combination of biosources. Therefore, WP4 ESRs focused their current work on optimizing the use of different liquid biopsy sources on two analytical assays platforms. Next, ESRs completed detailed guidelines for assay development and validation with the major milestone achieved on time.
