TEAMS 3.0 is the third in a series of projects funded by the European Commission via the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG-ECHO).

The project is aimed at developing research competence in the field of medical devices and regenerative technologies.

It involves exchange programmes between doctors, researchers and PhD students.

Organisations involved

• Faculty Of Technology And Metallurgy University Of Belgrade
• AO Foundation (Davos - CH)
• Alvar Aalto Foundation (Helsinki)

The project sets out to develop in vitro and in silico technologies to apply the most appropriate method of bone tissue and cartilage regeneration and orthopaedic prosthetics.

Participating organisations:

The VANGUARD project aims to generate a bioartificial vascularized and immunoprotected pancreas that can be transplanted into non-immunosuppressed patients, combining advanced elements of tissue engineering such as 3D organoids, hydrogel design, the assembly of bioartificial organs and gene editing via CRISPR-Cas9.

This approach will produce cell therapy in the form of an advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP), which can significantly improve the treatment of type 1 diabetes.

The project involves a consortium with 9 partners from 5 European countries.

Persistent or latent viral infections constitute a significant problem, particularly in individuals with reduced immune systems which can easily submit to reactivation of the virus with harmful consequences for the host.

The mechanisms that result in reactivation of these viruses are still little-known, making them a sizeable challenge for scientific researchers.

The goal of this project (funded by PRIN 2017) is to increase our knowledge of virus-host interaction, in order to identify:

In Italy, 8.5% of cancer cases are associated with viral infections; among these, the strongest link has been found with human Papillomavirus (HPV), which contributes to 5% of tumours worldwide.

Chemotherapy-induced periperal neuropathy (CIPN) is a dose-restricting collateral effect of various anti-cancer drugs.

Due to the fact that no cure is currently available, the only option to prevent serious and lasting damage in affected individuals is to reduce or suspend chemotherapy treatment.

This change to therapy may have an important effect in the long-term, as alternative treatments may not prove so effective. One of the reasons for the lack of a cure is the fact that the features of CIPN are still relatively unknown.

Haemophilia A is a genetic disease that affects blood coagulation, and is caused by mutations of the Factor (F) VIII gene. At the present moment in time, treatment consists of substitution therapy with recombinant or plasma-derived FVIII inhibitors, administered as prophylaxis or according to need. The two biggest limitations of this treatment are the high costs and development of antibodies which neutralise FVIII activity in around 30% of patients, who must then be treated with other coagulants (meaning even greater treatment costs).

Project in collaboration with the University of Turin (Prof.P.D'Amelio is Head of the UNITO department).

The project looks at the role of the ICOS/ICOSL system in bone and metabolic fragility in elderly people with Fragility Syndrome. The ICOS/ICOSL system was studied at length in the past regarding immune response, but more recent data collected by the project members demonstrates that it is also involved in bone metabolism.

Study of metabolic dysfunction in patients with COVID 19/cancer

Partners: Università Hunimed, Rozzano, Milan