20 Jan 2025
SANGUINE Consortium Meeting in Athens: A Milestone in Research and Collaboration
After countless hours of online coordination meetings, the SANGUINE project team finally had the chance to gather in person for a two-day consortium meeting. The project partners reunited in Athens, Greece, on 15-16 January 2025 at the Athens University History Museum. The clinical partner, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, kindly hosted the meeting.
With over 30 participants from 11 project partners, the first face-to-face SANGUINE consortium meeting was a milestone, allowing for deeper discussions, real-time collaboration, and strengthened partnerships. The agenda was packed with insightful sessions, covering the project's clinical and non-clinical aspects and providing a platform for engaging knowledge exchange.
Key presentations and discussions included:
Epigenetics, Liquid Biopsy, and What Lies Between – A keynote talk by Yuval Ebenstein (Tel-Aviv University, TAU) explored groundbreaking innovations in liquid biopsy technology and epigenetics, shedding light on how these advancements can enhance early detection of blood cancers.
Towards HemaChip Implementation – Jaxbio presented the progress on HemaChip, an innovative technology that aims to revolutionise haematological screening and diagnostics. This was followed by FZMB’s session on the custom development, optimisation, and validation of HemaChip, a crucial step towards its clinical application.
Clinical Sites Update – Partners from the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos (VULSK), University Hospital Olomouc (FNO), and Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre Ichilov (TASMC) provided updates on their respective clinical sites, sharing insights on patient recruitment, sample collection, and preliminary findings.
Patient Journey – The Olomouc Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry (UP) walked consortium partners through the patient journey, detailing the step-by-step process of collecting, analysing, and interpreting blood samples for early detection.
The presentations were energised by lively exchanges between partners who showed an impressive commitment to knowledge sharing and continuous improvement. The meeting once again proved the power of teamwork in research and innovation, and SANGUINE is fortunate to have some of the brightest minds in haematology aboard the consortium.
A key focus area of the consortium meeting was the synergy building between clinical and non-clinical partners, with a session dedicated to Dissemination, Communication, Exploitation, and Stakeholder Engagement, led by the European Cancer Organisation (ECO), PredictBy, and Orientos. The focus was on increasing awareness, building strategic partnerships, and ensuring the project's sustainability beyond the research phase.
SANGUINE is committed to developing screening solutions which health systems can adopt across Europe and beyond. Thus, understanding the users and their needs and involving stakeholders (from patients to policymakers) in the development process remains a central priority.
The second day's sessions were dedicated to ensuring that clinical and research teams were aligned in methodology, paving the way for smoother implementation and collaboration.
The insights gained in Athens will undoubtedly enhance collaboration between consortium partners and bring the project closer to fulfilling its potential.