Periodic Reporting for period 1 - COBRAIN (Armenia Center for Translational Research on Chronic Neurodegenerative Disorders: A Neuroscience Initiative on Maintaining Healthy Brain Ageing)
Berichtszeitraum: 2019-10-01 bis 2020-12-31
The direct objective of COBRAIN is to enhance the research and innovation capacity of YSMU through strengthening the field of brain research with a special emphasis on neuroprotective cell-based and drug therapies of brain disorders by getting closer to the international expertise and the experience of partner institutions. By getting closer to the expertise of Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Ruhr University Bochum and Lund University the project will address the following sub-objectives:
- Establishment of neuroscience research structure and policy for building new mechanisms of effective management of university research infrastructure.
- Investment in early stage researchers through upgrading their research skills in animal modelling, animal phenotyping, stem cell research, compound testing.
- Broadening research career opportunities for faculty and early stage researchers through establishing advanced training programs and funding scheme for permanent research.
- Setting up office of technology transfer and encouraging entrepreneurial activities by academic and research staff members.
- Increasing the visibility of the University with new research capacities in the international scientific community, medical/pharmaceutical industry, global knowledge economy.
Among its long-term objectives in science YSMU strives to establish a Brain Research Excellence Center for studying the prevention of chronic brain disorders (e.g. neurodegenerative disease, dementia, Alzheimer, autism etc.) and maintaining healthy ageing of the brain throughout lifespan. COBRAIN will be a crucial starting point on our way to achieving research excellence and ensuring sustainable national competitiveness in brain research.
The ultimate public health goal of COBRAIN is to develop capacities for discovering, developing and validating a wide-range of interventions to prevent or delay, thus reduce the prevalence of chronic brain disorders not only in Armenia but also nearby countries.
In addition to being a research capacity enhancement program, COBRAIN is a vigorous support to the national movement of slowing down the ‘brain-drain’ from Armenia to Diaspora and encouraging the reverse flow of researchers back into Armenia. Through COBRAIN the opportunity of staying in Armenia and implementing excellent research in our country is granted to the research team of the BRAIN INITIATIVE of Armenia. The chain reaction of the team's success will bring back hundreds of talented young people and scientists who have had an impactful footprint in research outside their homeland due to brain-drain.
- Establishment of neuroscience research structure and policy for building new mechanisms of effective management of university research infrastructure.
- Investment in early stage researchers through upgrading their research skills in animal modelling, animal phenotyping, stem cell research, compound testing.
- Broadening research career opportunities for faculty and early stage researchers through establishing advanced training programs and funding scheme for permanent research.
- Setting up office of technology transfer and encouraging entrepreneurial activities by academic and research staff members.
- Increasing the visibility of the University with new research capacities in the international scientific community, medical/pharmaceutical industry, global knowledge economy.
Among its long-term objectives in science YSMU strives to establish a Brain Research Excellence Center for studying the prevention of chronic brain disorders (e.g. neurodegenerative disease, dementia, Alzheimer, autism etc.) and maintaining healthy ageing of the brain throughout lifespan. COBRAIN will be a crucial starting point on our way to achieving research excellence and ensuring sustainable national competitiveness in brain research.
The ultimate public health goal of COBRAIN is to develop capacities for discovering, developing and validating a wide-range of interventions to prevent or delay, thus reduce the prevalence of chronic brain disorders not only in Armenia but also nearby countries.
In addition to being a research capacity enhancement program, COBRAIN is a vigorous support to the national movement of slowing down the ‘brain-drain’ from Armenia to Diaspora and encouraging the reverse flow of researchers back into Armenia. Through COBRAIN the opportunity of staying in Armenia and implementing excellent research in our country is granted to the research team of the BRAIN INITIATIVE of Armenia. The chain reaction of the team's success will bring back hundreds of talented young people and scientists who have had an impactful footprint in research outside their homeland due to brain-drain.
Despite the widely recognized unfavorable conditions, COBRAIN consortium managed to successfully perform a part of the basic work and achieved inspiring results in the first reporting period. In addition to the original plan, the project team expanded the scope of the project activities to complement the gap forced by the global pandemic.
In frames of “Project Management” a firm mechanism of providing relevant administration of the Project was adopted by giving force and specifying the scope of activities of the Governing Board, the External Advisory Board and the Executive Management Team. During the reporting period the beneficiaries signed Consortium Agreement with the coordinating institution.
Towards establishing a neuroscience research structure and policy, the project coordinator has performed the first site visit to EKUT and RUB in order to explore the basis for establishing a research excellence center and developing the research management system. On the basis of the site visit 5 regulatory documents and procedural by-laws have been drafted by YSMU team of research managers.
Through the work performed remotely with the partners COBRAIN ESRs have received guidance on planning and redesigning their research projects. The discussions of research results have also generated 2 articles which got published in quality journals (1 of them with open access).
In order to attract new ESRs and increase awareness of COBRAIN project COBRAIN-COVID initiative (COVID-neuro and COVID-antibody studies) was launched as a complementary activity of COBRAIN. This was planned in order to appropriately respond to the new public health challenge and have our own say in the struggle against the pandemic from the neuroscience prospective. Covid_Antibody aims to study the developmental characteristics of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. While COVID_Neuro is the study of the neurological changes associated with COVID-19 and their possible pathological mechanisms.
Aiming to increase the visibility of the project among the direct and indirect target groups, COBRAIN was official launched through a widely covered kick-off meeting which brought together policy-makers, leading researchers, early stage researchers and public audience. After its launch the dissemination was assured by the management of social media channels. In a language understandable for the lay-public we share information on the progress of the research conducted in frames of COBRAIN and also represent the recent reports and findings of other research groups covered in research articles or official reports.
In frames of “Project Management” a firm mechanism of providing relevant administration of the Project was adopted by giving force and specifying the scope of activities of the Governing Board, the External Advisory Board and the Executive Management Team. During the reporting period the beneficiaries signed Consortium Agreement with the coordinating institution.
Towards establishing a neuroscience research structure and policy, the project coordinator has performed the first site visit to EKUT and RUB in order to explore the basis for establishing a research excellence center and developing the research management system. On the basis of the site visit 5 regulatory documents and procedural by-laws have been drafted by YSMU team of research managers.
Through the work performed remotely with the partners COBRAIN ESRs have received guidance on planning and redesigning their research projects. The discussions of research results have also generated 2 articles which got published in quality journals (1 of them with open access).
In order to attract new ESRs and increase awareness of COBRAIN project COBRAIN-COVID initiative (COVID-neuro and COVID-antibody studies) was launched as a complementary activity of COBRAIN. This was planned in order to appropriately respond to the new public health challenge and have our own say in the struggle against the pandemic from the neuroscience prospective. Covid_Antibody aims to study the developmental characteristics of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. While COVID_Neuro is the study of the neurological changes associated with COVID-19 and their possible pathological mechanisms.
Aiming to increase the visibility of the project among the direct and indirect target groups, COBRAIN was official launched through a widely covered kick-off meeting which brought together policy-makers, leading researchers, early stage researchers and public audience. After its launch the dissemination was assured by the management of social media channels. In a language understandable for the lay-public we share information on the progress of the research conducted in frames of COBRAIN and also represent the recent reports and findings of other research groups covered in research articles or official reports.
All the work performed so far substantially contribute to a set of impacts listed in the Grant Agreement Annex 1 (2.1 EXPECTED IMPACTS). They lay a reliable background for generating the short-term and long-term impacts at the end of the project. These impacts are:
1. The model and the regulation for the Brain Research Excellence Center, as well as other by-laws are drafted directed at having improved research structure and policies ready to implement for the establishment of new research infrastructures.
2. Through internship programmes announced during the reporting period COBRAIN recruited residents, young researchers to take part in investigations of COVID-neuro and COVID-antibody subprojects. Based on their performance, 4 participants were shortlisted to be involved in the project as early stage researchers. This will contribute to increasing the number of skillful research fellows competent for being hired in advanced research projects.
3. COBRAIN-COVID initiative with its two subprojects will contribute to increasing the number of research projects implemented within YSMU.
4. During the reporting period the Consortium together with the COBRAIN ESRs managed to get published in highly ranked journals.
5. The complementary activities of the COBRAIN-COVID project are expected to ensure that a certain portion of the original impact will be met in terms of increased interest towards research, enhanced competitiveness and opportunity of YSMU neuroscience team to network with the world wide scientific community, active involvement in research funding projects, strengthened research culture etc. The activities performed in frames of the COBRAIN-COVID initiative will have specific results in the future. However, today’s estimations show that it has impacted
• the overall number of research projects being implemented within the University;
• the number of ESRs and leading researchers involved in COBRAIN generated research projects;
• the capacity for applying for new calls of research projects within Horizon Europe;
• the number of quality publications.
1. The model and the regulation for the Brain Research Excellence Center, as well as other by-laws are drafted directed at having improved research structure and policies ready to implement for the establishment of new research infrastructures.
2. Through internship programmes announced during the reporting period COBRAIN recruited residents, young researchers to take part in investigations of COVID-neuro and COVID-antibody subprojects. Based on their performance, 4 participants were shortlisted to be involved in the project as early stage researchers. This will contribute to increasing the number of skillful research fellows competent for being hired in advanced research projects.
3. COBRAIN-COVID initiative with its two subprojects will contribute to increasing the number of research projects implemented within YSMU.
4. During the reporting period the Consortium together with the COBRAIN ESRs managed to get published in highly ranked journals.
5. The complementary activities of the COBRAIN-COVID project are expected to ensure that a certain portion of the original impact will be met in terms of increased interest towards research, enhanced competitiveness and opportunity of YSMU neuroscience team to network with the world wide scientific community, active involvement in research funding projects, strengthened research culture etc. The activities performed in frames of the COBRAIN-COVID initiative will have specific results in the future. However, today’s estimations show that it has impacted
• the overall number of research projects being implemented within the University;
• the number of ESRs and leading researchers involved in COBRAIN generated research projects;
• the capacity for applying for new calls of research projects within Horizon Europe;
• the number of quality publications.