The Biomedical Center of the Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen (FMP), Charles University (CUNI) in the Czech Republic provides high-grade regional research infrastructure in the fundamental field of cancer biology and oncology. Despite its advanced research and innovation performance, the Center has not reached its full potential. The EU-funded Chaperon project managed to bring top-class researchers to the Center by recruiting a renowned researcher Prof. Kari Hemminki to the position of the ERA Chair holder as well as the head of the newly established Laboratory of Translational Cancer Genomics, which has been subsequently joined by a diverse and highly effective team of respected senior researchers, promising young scientists and Ph.D. students. Besides this significant boost in research excellence, the activities of the ERA Chair holder in the Chaperon project made a significant contribution to FMP by moderating the transformation of human resource policies and managerial processes. By successfully achieving its three specific objectives, i.e. to i) facilitate structural changes at FMP and CUNI, ii) create suitable conditions and research environment, and iii) recruit an international-level expert in patient-oriented cancer genomics leading to research excellence, the Chaperon project substantially mitigated some of the prior institutional limitations, improved the research performance of FMP and CUNI, and, last but not least, contributed to the development of the immensely socially relevant field of biomedical research, especially in oncology and cancer biology.
In its conclusion, the Chaperon project reached all of its target objectives by fulfilling all key performance indicators, meeting all implementation milestones, and producing all required deliverables within the established timeline and budget. Stakeholder feedback was positive, numerous collaborations are set for the future and the established laboratory with its research team continue their research activities after the project. Chaperon also facilitated organization of numerous training and information events and development of comprehensive training materials, ensuring efficient dissemination and sustainability of the knowledge and results gained within the project. Overall, the project demonstrated a significant impact on the organization's performance and set a foundation for continued growth and improvement.
