A basic two-day course related to ELISA method was held at Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia (IORS) on 22-23.03.2023 by Dr Ana Vuletić and Dr Katarina Mirjačić Martinović. As a practical exercise with the help of laboratory technician Jasna Popović Basić, the level of IL-10 in the sera of healthy individuals was analyzed. During the first day, theoretical principles of ELISA method were presented, while the second day was dedicated to a practical step by step approach how sandwich ELISA works. The Participants of the course were young researchers and a laboratory technician from IORS.

Presentation

The two-day interactive workshop “Omics data generation and integration with clinical information” was held on 01-02.06.2023. in Athens, Greece. During the interactive lectures, a total of 43 course participants from 4 partner institutions gained knowledge about the basic principles of “omics” techniques, which are an integral part of biomedical research.

The course was led by 4 main researchers from the partner institutions of this project, Dr. Ieronymos Zoidakis from the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA, Greece), Dr. Sergi Castellvi-Bel from the Fundació de Recerca Clínic Barcelona-Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi and Sunyer (FRCB-IDIBAPS, Spain), Dr. Remond Fijneman from the Netherlands Cancer Institute Antoni van Leeuwenhoekziekenhuis (NKI-AVL, The Netherlands) and Dr. Milena Čavić from the Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia.

First day 01.06.2023. was dedicated to topics related to the application of clinical proteomics – Tonia Vlahou (BRFAA), clinical transcriptomics – Soufyan Lakbir (NKI-AVL), epigenomics – Miljana Tanić (IORS), metabolomics – Ana Đurić (IORS), clinical applications of mass spectrometry – Nikos Paschalidis (BRFAA), HAP-1 cell models – Gemma Llargués (IDIBAPS), gene editing – Xavier Dominguez-Rovira (IDIBAPS), organoids – Laia Bonjoch (IDIBAPS) and fragmentomics – Alessandro Leal (Delfi Diagnostics) in oncology research.

Second day 02.06.2023. was dedicated to topics related to the application of circulating tumor DNA in oncological diagnostics – Raymond Fyneman (NKI-AVL), the discovery of frequent and rare genetic variants in colorectal cancer – Sergi Castellví-Bel (IDIBAPS), the application of omics techniques in predicting the response to chemoradiotherapy in rectal cancer – Mladen Marinković, Aleksandra Stanojević, Milena Čavić (IORS), spatial transcriptomics – Emmanouil Athanasiadis (UniWA), metabolomics in screening – Julie Courraud (NKUA), chemoproteomics in the identification of oncological therapeutic targets – Guillaume Médard (NKUA), multiplex ELISA in validation and clinical implementation of biomarkers – Leonidas Alexopoulos (PROTAVIO), as well as the erroneous application of markers from urine – Ieronymos Zoidakis (BRFAA).

Agenda

Presentations Day 1

1.1. Clinical Proteomics – Tonia Vlahou
1.2. Clinical Transcriptomics – Soufyan Lakbir
1.3. Epigenomics in Cancer Research – Miljana Tanic
1.4. Metabolomics in Cancer Research – Ana Djuric
1.5. Mass Cytometry Clinical Applications – Nikolaos Paschalidis
1.6. Gene Editing – Xavier Dominguez-Rovira
1.7. HAP1 Cellular Model – Gemma Llargués-Sistac
1.8. Organoids Modeling – Laia Bonjoch

Presentations Day 2

2.1. Cancer Diagnosis Using Circulating Tumor DNA – Remond Fijneman
2.2. Discovery of Common and Rare Genetic Variants for Colorectal Cancer – Sergi Castellví-Bel
2.3.a Predicting Response to Chemoradiotherapy in Rectal Cancer Using Omics Approaches – Milena Cavic
2.3.b Predicting Response to Chemoradiotherapy in Rectal Cancer Using Omics Approaches – Mladen Marinkovic
2.3.c Predicting Response to Chemoradiotherapy in Rectal Cancer Using Omics Approaches – Aleksandra Stanojevic
2.4. Transcriptomics in Hematological Malignancies – Christos Kontos
2.5. Amyloid Typing by Mass Spectrometry – Julie Courraud
2.6. Chemoproteomics Approaches for the Identification of Therapeutic Targets in Cancer – Guillaume Médard
2.8. Biomarker Ruin in Urine – Makis Zoidakis

Day 1

Day 2

Post-award grant management (PAGM) training organized by the STEPUPIORS project as a post-congress symposium of the SDIR-6 meeting “From Collaboration to Innovation in Cancer Research” of the Serbian Association for Cancer Research was held on the 4th of October 2023 in Hotel Royal Inn in Belgrade, Serbia in the period from 11 – 18.30 CET. Lecturers were from partner institutions, Fundació de Recerca Clínic Barcelona-Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (FRCB-IDIBAPS), the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA) and company for research, management and communication – Exelixis from Athens, Greece, and the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI AVL). The most important topics related to the PAGM were presented by: Dr Lidia Castro (FRCB- IDIBAPS), MSc Joan Pallarés (FRCB-IDIBAPS), Dr Ieronymos Zoidakis (BRFAA), Dr Christos Ilioudis (BRFAA), MSc Dimitris Raptis (Exelixis), Dr Adrià Closa (NKI-AVL) and Dr Remond Fijneman (NKI-AVL). The training was attended by 68 participants (72% of them were women) mostly from the Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia as the host institution, and from the Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, Institute for Medical Research, Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade – Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade – Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade – Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade – School of Dental Medicine, University Clinical Center of Serbia, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research and University of Montenegro.

Agenda

Presentations
1. Legal Issues HE – Lidia Castro
2. Scientific Reporting and Communication with the Project Officer – Christos Ilioudis and Dimitris Raptis
3. Discussion – Makis Zoidakis
4. Personnel Cost and Equipment Depreciation – Joan Pallares
5. Data Management and Upload to cBioPortal – Adria Closa
6. Dissemination, Communication and Exploitation – Lidia Castro

STEPUPIORS webinar entitled „Preparing Future Faculty for Teaching“ was held on 13 December 2023. from 10:00 to 11:30 AM (CET). The webinar was organized by Ieronymos Zoidakis, Professor of Biochemistry, from the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA) and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). Eighteen participants from Serbia (Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Institute of Nuclear Sciences), Greece (BRFAA), and Spain (Fundació de Recerca Clínic Barcelona-Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (FRCB-IDIBAPS)) attended the webinar.

During the webinar, Prof. Zoidakis covered all the important phases of good preparation for teaching a course at a university. During his presentation, Prof. Zoidakis discussed with the participants the preparation of the syllabus for the university course and methods of teaching for theoretical and laboratory classes. Many participants joined the discussion at many points on traditional and original teaching methods that may comprise visual arts, theater, and various other performances as well as technology-based methods that include the internet, mobile phone applications, etc. Furthermore, aspects of how people learn and the relevance of active discussion in the learning process, counseling, and mentoring of students were illustrated by numerous examples from the practice. The modules on exams and grading of student’s work and knowledge, as well as delicate situations and problems related to late assignments, regarding requests, cheating and plagiarism, copying during exams, and lab data falsification, were also discussed.

The issues associated with working with students with disabilities were also addressed during the webinar. This webinar is the first in a series of webinars dedicated to building skills for careers in academia/industry.

Presentation

STEPUPIORS webinar entitled “Colorectal cancer screening: great opportunities and new challenges” by Prof. Antoni Castells from Hospital Clínic de Barcelona was held on 25 April 2024. from 10:00 to 11:00 AM (CET). The webinar was organized as a joint hybrid event of STEPUPIORS project and the Serbian Association for Cancer Research (SDIR) during the SDIR Scientific Day held at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia. The webinar was attended by around 30 online and 50 onsite Serbian and international researchers.

During the webinar, Prof. Castells talked about all the opportunities and challenges researchers and clinicians are facing in implementing colorectal cancer screening. The topics that were discussed during the webinar included: colonoscopy as the most accurate method for CRC screening, fecal immunochemical testing as an adequate approach for an organized screening program, the effectiveness of FIT- and colonoscopy-based screening in terms of CRC mortality and biomarker-based screening strategies for CRC prevention.

After the webinar lecturers from the Institute for Oncology of Vojvodina, the Institute for Pulmonary Diseases of Vojvodina and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Novi Sad presented their research results in the field of oncology, the research capacities, as well as areas of scientific interest and opportunities for cooperation with colleagues from other institutions that deal with basic and translational research in oncology in Serbia.

The meeting was attended by Serbian and international researchers from various institutions, leading to vivid discussions on this globally important topic with insight from different countries.

Presentation