STEPUPIORS at the 2024. Serbian Science Festival
It was an honor and a privilege to help build up a generation of healthy, happy and responsible young professionals in our country!
November 2024 Congress Activities
Mladen Marinkovic attended the European School of Oncology Autumn Masterclass in Clinical Oncology and gave a lecture “The role of CEA and CA 19-9 tumor markers in predicting response to neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer” at the 3rd Serbian Radiation Oncology Congress.
Miljana Tanic participated as an invited lecturer at the HDIR-7 Congress of the Croatian Association for Cancer Research (HDIR) “Biobanking From Scratch: A Roadmap to Setup a Rectal Cancer Biobank Within the STEPUPIORS Project”
Radmila Jankovic, Jelena Spasic, Ana Krivokuca, Marija Đorđić Crnogorac, Mladen Marinkovic, Milan Kocic, Fedja Djordjevic participated as lecturers and panelists at the Cancer Week of the Serbian Medical Society Oncology Section. A special session was dedicated to genetic predisposition and management of colorectal cancer in Serbia.
In collaboration with the Serbian Society for Extracellular Vesicles, Miodrag Vukovic gave a lecture “Extracellular Vesicles and Cancer”.
One Health in Serbia Stakeholder Meeting
“One Health in Serbia – Stakeholder Meeting for Boosting Excellence in Research and Innovation Ecosystems in Serbia” was held on December 9, 2024, in the Science Technology Park in Belgrade, organized by 4 Horizon Europe projects, EINSTEIN (101136377), GrInShield (101079151), BIOLAWEB (101079234) and STEPUPIORS (101079217), which are focused on different aspects of global health.
The meeting brought together interested parties from the government, policy makers, NGOs, business and academic sectors in a comprehensive approach to use real-world scientific data to improve the health of people and the ecosystem in Serbia. The meeting was supported by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation, Ministry of Health, Center for the 4th Industrial Revolution in Serbia and the EU delegation in Serbia during the opening session. Ninety-five registered participants came from 14 academic institutions, 10 business companies, 9 governmental institutions and 1 NGO.
As an outcome of the meeting, a set of specific recommendations was prepared for the policy makers on behalf of the projects and participants, gathering feedback from the vivid discussions. All participants united around one general conclusion, that inter-sectoral collaboration and swift, tangible actions will be crucial for creating a healthier environment for future generations in Serbia.
The meeting was promoted at EuroNews Serbia portal:
STEPUPIORS at the 2024 European Liquid Biopsy Society (ELBS) General Assembly
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.
https://www.clinicbarcelona.
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 “LIQUID BIOPSY TECHNOLOGIES”
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.
𝐌𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐈𝐑 is focused on predicting and manipulating immune responses in multiple cancer types, including melanoma, lung, and bladder cancers.
𝐄𝐋𝐌𝐔𝐌𝐘 continues to focus on identifying risk factors and health determinants that lead to the progression of monoclonal gammopathies into multiple myeloma.
𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 from all three projects showcased innovative research and solutions, and the dynamic 𝐐&𝐀 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 enabled exploring the impact of potential synergistic approach.
IORS becomes a member of the European Liquid Biopsy Society (ELBS) through STEPUPIORS
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 Đurić and Dr Milena Čavić participated in the EU Week of Opportunities on Sept 23, 2024, organized in three cities in Serbia, Belgrade, Niš 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.
