STEPUPIORS at the 2024 European Liquid Biopsy Society (ELBS) General Assembly

STEPUPIORS participants Remond Fijneman, Paul van der Leest and Carmen Rubio AlarcΓ³n from NKI-AVL and Ana Djuric and Milena Cavic from IORS attended the European Liquid Biopsy Society (ELBS) General Assembly in Barcelona on Nov 26-27, 2024 contributing to the vivid discussions of this vibrant community.
IORS was introduced as a new member in the ELBS network. Paul van der Leest gave a lecture on the challenges and opportunities to bring circulating tumor DNA-based molecular testing to routine implementation deriving conclusions from the COIN consortium. During the reimbursement workshop, Remond Fijneman gave a crucial lecture pointing to the potential path to reimbursement and the role of ELBS in the journey. Milena Cavic offered insights on liquid biopsy reimbursement issues from a non-EU European country. Specific strategies for advancement of liquid biopsy in Europe will be sought by the next meeting in 2025.




IORS and NKI-AVL researchers visit FRCB-IDIBAPS

STEPUPIORS participants Ana Djuric and Milena Cavic from the Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia and Remond Fijneman from the Netherlands Cancer Institute visited the partner institution FRCB-IDIBAPS and met with hosts Sergi Castellvi-Bel and Teresa Botta-Orfila on Nov 25, 2024 in Barcelona.

Experiences in biobank database management were exchanged, discussing key aspects related to annotating data for multiple samples from donors with oncological diseases under clinical follow-up. This allowed us to delve into highly relevant details and continue improving the biobanking processes in both institutions, which is a great step forward in strengthening data management and fostering collaboration in the biomedical field. Potential new collaborations and grant applications in the field of colorectal cancer biomarkers research were explored with FRCB-IDIBAPS and Hospital ClΓ­nic de Barcelona scientists Jordi Camps and Meritxell Gironella.

https://www.clinicbarcelona.org/en/idibaps/core-facilities/biobank




October 2024 Congress activities

STEPUPIORS project members had a productive October 2024 season presenting latest results at various meetings, paving the way towards a long term impact of the project in the last project year.

Dr Milena Cavic participated at the second annual meeting of the EPIBOOST project funded by the European Research Executive Agency (REA) within the Focus Group on Twinning Actions management, on Oct 02, 2024.

Miodrag Vukovic and Dr Milena Cavic participated at the 2nd MOVE Congress organized by the Serbian Society for Extracellular Vesicles on Oct 08-10, 2024 in Belgrade, Serbia.

Dr Milena Cavic gave a lecture at the Targeted Response Project workshop funded by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia coordinated by Milica Pesic on October 21, 2024, at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Medicine.

Dr Miljana Tanic participated as a panelist at the Screening for Breakthroughs: The Power of Genetic Data Session of the AI_4_LIFE: Biotech Future Forum organized by the C4IR Srbija in cooperation with the World Economic Forum and the United Nations Development Programme, in Belgrade, Serbia, on Oct 24-25, 2024. Dr Ana Djuric and Dr Milena Cavic participated at the EIT Health Morning Health Talks Session of the AI_4_LIFE: Biotech Future Forum.

Dr Suzana Stojanovic-Rundic, Dr Radmila Jankovic and Dr Mladen Marinkovic participated as lecturers and moderators at the “2nd Open Balkan Digestive Oncology Expert Meeting Innovation & Artificial Intelligence” organized by the Association of Digestive Oncology of Serbia in Belgrade, Serbia, on Oct 25-26, 2024.




STEPUPIORS SUMMER SCHOOL β€œLIQUID BIOPSY TECHNOLOGIES”

β€œLiquid biopsy technologiesΒ  ” STEPUPIORS summer school organized from September 30 to October 04, 2024, at Analysis of Circulating Tumor Cells Laboratory (ACTC) lab, Dept. of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Athens, Greece. The course on liquid biopsies was organized in the form of lectures that were held on the first day of the course and β€œhands-on” demonstrations of liquid biopsy techniques were held inhttp://en.actc-lab.chem.uoa.gr/ laboratory settings for the next 3 days.
Participant feedback:
“The workshops and lectures, especially those related to circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), were extremely comprehensive and informative, tailored to participants of various knowledge levels.”
“From a scientific and clinical standpoint, this program was successful. It encouraged teamwork and the sharing of knowledge, insights, and experiences with colleagues from Spain, the Netherlands, and Greece. My participation in this school has stimulated creative ideas for upcoming projects and scientific and diagnostic research development.”




STEPUPIORS at "Synergy in Cancer Research" Joint EU Projects Meeting

STEPUPIORS joined forces with ELMUMY and MULTIR EU Project in Athens on October 3, 2024, to enravel collaborative approaches for efficient and effective utilization of funds provided by the European Research Executive Agency.

 

πŒπ”π‹π“πˆπ‘ is focused on predicting and manipulating immune responses in multiple cancer types, including melanoma, lung, and bladder cancers.

https://www.multir.eu/

 

π„π‹πŒπ”πŒπ˜ continues to focus on identifying risk factors and health determinants that lead to the progression of monoclonal gammopathies into multiple myeloma.

https://www.elmumy.eu/

 

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐬 from all three projects showcased innovative research and solutions, and the dynamic 𝐐&𝐀 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐬 enabled exploring the impact of potential synergistic approach.




IORS becomes a member of the European Liquid Biopsy Society (ELBS) through STEPUPIORS

The Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia (IORS) has become a member of the European Liquid Biopsy Society (ELBS) within the framework of the STEPUPIORS project.

 

ELBS’ vision is that liquid biopsy becomes an integral part of the clinical routine for the benefit of patients, with prior scientific validation through extensive and controlled multicenter clinical trials. IORS’ task will be to contribute to reducing the gap between numerous research publications and validation of biomarkers in clinical practice. Currently, at IORS liquid biopsy is used in molecular diagnostics of lung cancer (detection of EGFR mutations) in the Laboratory for Molecular Genetics at the Department of Experimental Oncology. The STEPUPIORS team hopes that through cooperation with ELBS, IORS will have the opportunity to contribute to the expansion of indications in which liquid biopsy can be used as a minimally invasive alternative to tissue biopsy in Serbia for other tumor localizations, such as cancers of the digestive system.




STEPUPIORS at the Serbian EU Week of Opportunities

Dr Ana ĐuriΔ‡ and Dr Milena ČaviΔ‡ participated in the EU Week of Opportunities on Sept 23, 2024, organized in three cities in Serbia, Belgrade, NiΕ‘ and Novi Sad. It was a special opportunity to depict a wide range of opportunities offered by the EU in Serbia. The event was organized in cooperation with numerous ministries of the Government of Serbia and included physical and online activities, presentations, discussions and info sessions. An innovative feature of the event was the use of the metaverse platform for live broadcasts and interactive engagements with partners. The main topics were the economy, business, innovation, education, sports, culture, media, civil sector, local development, energy, environmental protection, cross-border cooperation and agriculture.

STEPUPIORS participants were especially interested in topics on Digital Europe, Business Incubator, Horizon Europe programs, Investment Framework for the Western Balkans, European Innovation Council programs, EU for the Green Agenda and Policy Answer – policy dialogue that includes formal meetings, monitoring and setting the agenda, building capacities and implementation of the EU agenda for the Western Balkans. These aspects are of high importance for the sustainability and long-term effects of the implementation of translational projects in the field of oncology.