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Photonics for Healthcare: multiscAle cancer diagnosiS and Therapy

Project description

Biophotonic technologies for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer

Biophotonics is an area of study focusing on utilising innovative optics and photonics in biology, life sciences and biomedicine. A particularly important aspect of this field is the photonic characterisation of biological cells and tissue for an improved medical diagnosis. The European Training Network PHAST is providing excellent, high-level education and training in the vibrant field of biophotonics to 15 early stage researchers via a strong multidisciplinary PhD programme. The EU-funded PHAST project aims to develop multiscale advanced photonic technologies to help diagnose cancer in vitro and in vivo and monitor treatment in personalised medicine. Furthermore, it will address a string of unmet needs of the medical community in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer to improve the quality of life for Europeans.

Objective

The European Training Network PHAST (Photonics for Healthcare: multiscAle cancer diagnosiS and Therapy) provides excellent, highly-skilled education and training in the vibrant field of Biophotonics for 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) in a strong multidisciplinary PhD programme. PHAST addresses some relevant “unmet needs” of the medical community in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer – one of the leading causes of death worldwide – to significantly improve the quality of life for European society. The main scientific goal of PHAST is to develop multiscale advanced photonic technologies for the diagnosis of cancer in vitro and in vivo and the monitoring of therapy for personalized medicine, through its four specific objectives: 1. In-vitro diagnosis as point-of-care approach through optical spectroscopy combined with innovative sampling techniques. 2. Tissue diagnostics and functional monitoring by optical fibre-based biopsy and diffuse optical spectroscopy. 3. Microscale cancer monitoring by multimodal optical imaging of tumour borders during surgery. 4. Macroscale therapy monitoring by diffuse optical spectroscopy, multifunctional optical fibre sensors, autofluorescence, and hyperspectral imaging. The multi-scale level approach employed by PHAST will allow early cancer detection from molecular disease markers in body-liquids up to live organs. In specific cases these techniques will be validated in the clinic thanks to close collaboration with medical institutions. The ESRs will be trained to all the technologies through hands-on laboratory platforms, thematic workshops and courses to build solid careers as biophotonics professionals in both academic and non-academic sectors. This will be possible thanks to the multidisciplinary environment created by the PHAST consortium, composed of research institutions, 2 hospitals and 8 industries, among them specialized small companies as well as global players in the field such as Horiba, Philips and Zeiss.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-ITN - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks (ITN)

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-ITN-2019

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PARMA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 261 499,68
Address
VIA UNIVERSITA 12
43121 PARMA
Italy

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Region
Nord-Est Emilia-Romagna Parma
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 261 499,68

Participants (13)

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