Premurosa beneficiaries
Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale (UPO, www.uniupo.it ) is a young and multidisciplinary University founded in 1998 and embracing several fields of research with a special vocation for the medical, biological, biotechnological and pharmaceutical topics. In these fields UPO reaches excellent positions in National and International ranking lists and contributes to the knowledge and technological development by publishing a large amount of papers in high impacted journals, patenting technologies and participating in national and international research programs (more than 50 EU projects including ERC grants).
Some 12,000 students, 400 professors and researchers, 300 employees are the constituted figures of UPO.
UPO coordinates the PREMUROSA project and provides facilities and training in “omics” technologies. UPO develops and will validate PREMUROSA diagnostics tools and medical devices.
Aalto University Foundation (AALTO, www.aalto.fi) is one of the leading universities in Finland. Aalto University has multidisciplinary fields of technology, business and art, about 20,000 students, 3,500 of whom are doctoral students. The staff amounts to about 5000 people, of which 350 are professors. The Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering (AALTO CHEM) combines natural sciences and engineering. Main research priorities encompass process technology, industrial biotechnology, biomaterials science, advanced metals and minerals recovery processes, active and functional materials. Within PREMUROSA, AALTO expertise in teaching and training (Aalto Health Platform, Health Capital Helsinki – the 2nd largest health centre in the world) will be applied. AALTO focuses on expertise and knowledge in biomaterials evaluation, production, testing, regulative issues, tissue engineering applications, novel biomedical engineering training and teaching methods, as well as on implementation and translation of the R&D results into practice.
In PREMUROSA, AALTO is in charge of developing in silico models to test regeneration technologies together with innovative computer simulation apps and biomaterials testing.
Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli (IOR, www.ior.it ) performs in vitro and in vivo research with particular focus on pathologies of the musculoskeletal system. The mission is to conduct basic, pre-clinical, translational and clinical research on biocompatibility, bioactivity and biofunctionality of medical devices according to National, European and International rules. The Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli has a huge experience in developing in vitro experimental models (different cell sources from healthy and pathological tissues) and preclinical studies, evaluating safety and efficacy of therapies for traumatic, dysmetabolic (i.e. post-menopausal osteoporosis), degenerative (i.e. osteoarthritis) and infective (i.e. osteomyelitis, septic implant loosening).
The major tasks in charge to IOR within the PREMUROSA project is to develop 3D in-vitro models and contributing to validation activities.
The AO Foundation (AO, www.aofoundation.org ) is a medically guided, global network of surgeons. It is the world’s leading education and research organization for trauma and musculoskeletal treatment. Within the AO Research Institute Davos (ARI), the Musculoskeletal Regeneration Program has established research activities in the field of bone, cartilage, and intervertebral disc regeneration, with a major focus on cell therapy and tissue engineering.
Extended research experience with specific bioreactor system for cartilage and disc considerably contributes to the ex vivo component of the overall development of PREMUROSA project.
Riga Technical University (RTU, www.rtu.lv/en) is one of the oldest institutions of higher technical education in Eastern Europe. RTU gathers more than 16000 students, staff of 611 people for research and 572 for teaching, currently is the top one University in Latvia in terms of scientific potential and it is ranked among the top 651–700 Universities worldwide. The Rudolfs Cimdins Riga Biomaterials Innovations and Development Centre of Riga Technical University (RTU RBIDC) research team consists of 20 chemical engineers and materials scientists. The team has experience in coordination and participation EU projects closely cooperating with industrial partners. The biomaterials developed at RTU RBIDC have been tested in materials, bone cements, drug delivery system and upscaling of chemical engineering processes.
In the PREMUROSA project, RTU contributes with extended research experience available in synthesis and characterization of biomaterials and drug delivery systems and Chemical substance and process safety risk-assessment.
The Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade (UOB, www.tmf.bg.ac.rs ), has a long-standing tradition in higher education and scientific research in chemical engineering, biotechnology, materials engineering, environmental engineering, and metallurgy; furthermore, it offers bachelor, master, and doctoral studies in these fields. UOB has achieved significant results in numerous national and international scientific projects and among variety of research fields, materials engineering is one of the strongest. The biomedical engineering laboratory involved in PREMUROSA operates according to GLP standards by the Ministry of Science of the Republic of Serbia since 2004. Since then, several national and international scientific projects focused on cell immobilization, interactions of cells and novel biomaterials, and development of novel bioreactors for skeletal tissue engineering, have been carried out.
In the PREMUROSA project, UOB is in charge of providing and synthesizing materials, developing bioreactors close to clinical conditions and training young researchers accordingly.
Instituto Nacional de Engenharia Biomédica (INEB, www.ineb.up.pt ) is a private non-profit association with the statute of public interest founded in 1989. The Mission of INEB is to generate knowledge, by promoting research; advanced training and technology transfer in biomedical engineering. INEB is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary research institution, where integrative engineering solutions are applied to improve human health, involving specialists in biomaterials, tissue regeneration, nanomedicine, bioimaging, medical signals, geoepidemiology, biology and medicine. In the past decade, INEB’s researchers generated 12 patents, 40 prototypes, 6 products and 3 spin-offs, along with hundreds of scientific publications (over 300 in the past 5 years). The excellence of the research performed at INEB is constantly recognized through international and national prizes, including the George Winter Award and Jean Leray Award from the European Society of Biomaterials and the L’Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science, and is translated by the establishment of collaborations with over 100 institutions worldwide, from academia, hospitals and companies. In 2008 INEB established the consortium i3S – Institute for research and innovation in health, together with the University of Porto, the Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology (IBMC) and the Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of UPorto (IPATIMUP). In 2014, i3S was among the 11 national institutions rated as “Exceptional” by the national Foundation for Science and Technology. The trans-disciplinary character of i3S is achieved through these Integrative Research Programs and by promoting projects addressing questions that require participation of basic and applied sciences, such as: 1) The development of effective and reliable in vitro diagnostic tools (for early detection of gastric cancer and bacterial infection, combining molecular targets and nanotechnologies, with emphasis on in vivo bio-imaging); 2) The development of carriers, scaffolds and cell isolation, and manipulation technologies for effective cell therapies and tissue engineering strategies.
Within PREMUROSA, UP-INEB focuses on the immune response and innervation triggered by engineered cartilage constructs.
Politecnico of Torino (POLITO, www.polito.it ) was founded about 150 years ago and represents a leading public university, in Italy and Europe, in technical-scientific teaching and research, with over 32,000 students from more than 100 countries. POLITO is part of major European interuniversity networks, such as CESAER, CLUSTER, E.C.I.U, EUA, and CMU. These contacts will allow project information and results to be spread and disseminated to a wider number of institutions. With more than 230 FP7 projects and about 97 Horizon 2020 projects, POLITO has a great experience both in scientific projects and administrative management; furthermore, it serves as coordinator or partner in several EU projects promoting the development of innovative doctoral programmes involving both academia and enterprises. In November 2013 the European Commission awarded the ‘HR Excellence in Research’ logo to POLITO, remarking the strong commitment in the implementation of the principles of the Charter and Code aimed at creating a high-quality academic environment where researchers and students from all over the world can study, work and collaborate on innovative and challenging projects.
The research activity within PREMUROSA is carried out at the Department of Applied Sciences and Technology (GLANCE research group), which is provided with state-of-the-art research facilities and a lab specifically devoted to Biomaterials. POLITO is in charge of “materiomics” parts.
EnginSoft S.p.A. (ES, www.enginsoft.it ) is an Italy-based multinational consulting company active in the field of Simulation-based Engineering and Sciences, Data Analysis and Data Mining. ES provides a wide range of services including effective, high-quality consulting, advanced training, development of ad hoc custom software, and research. In Italy, ES employs about 120 engineers with multidisciplinary skills in a variety of contexts and technologies: large-scale, industrial, transportation, metallurgy as well as in all contexts in which simulation is a strategic asset for innovation and business competitiveness. ES makes extensive use of software solutions that match or exceed prevailing industry standards (ANSYS, MAGMA, Flowmaster, modeFRONTIER and others), and invests heavily in the use of infrastructure-based High Performance Computing (HPC) and Cloud Computing platforms. ES also makes extensive use of Scientific software, such as Maple and Open Source alternative to MATLAB, such as Scilab or R. In particular, the Applied and Industrial Mathematics team that will be directly involved in the project has deep expertise in data processing, data mining methods, Multi-objective design and optimization (MODAO).
Within PREMUROSA, ES will be in charge of developing in silico models to test regeneration technologies and of the DSS design.
Tampere University (TAU, www.tuni.fi ) is a multidisciplinary foundation recently raised (2019) from the fusion of Tampere University of Technology (TUT) and the University of Tampere (UTA).
TUT has been a pioneer in technology transfer and an acknowledged cooperation partner among the scientific community and business life, and has a 50-year track-record in collaborative research with the industry, whilst UTA has been known as multidisciplinary university focused on teaching and research in fields of society and health. TUT and UTA together have now created Finland’s second-largest university, which priority areas are technology, health and society. Tampere University Foundation that operates as Tampere University is also the majority shareholder of Tampere University of Applied Sciences. This new higher education community in Tampere consists of 30,000 students, 330 professors and 4,400 employees. Annually, TAU allocates some 10 M€ for doctoral education. Doctoral training takes place in the University’s doctoral programmes of respective seven academic faculties. Special attention in Doctoral training is paid to internationality and methodological, working life and researcher skills. For example, the “Doctoral School of Industry Innovations” utilizes innovation platforms and brings together the Tampere region innovation capabilities. Both TUT and UTA have long experience on EU funding and have an EU support team dealing with legal, financial and administrative issues. Both TUT and UTA have been awarded with the European Commission’s “HR Excellence in Research” logo. The research group involved in PREMUROSA project has demonstrated record of accomplishment in attracting funding and publishing articles in the field of biomaterials and tissue engineering. The research spans from silicate to borate bioactive glasses, and from amorphous to fully crystalline biomaterials. The produced biomaterials are processed into frits, powder, fibers or 3D scaffolds. The main applications of the ongoing research cover bone, cartilage and urethra tissue engineering and are supported by the Academy of Finland, TTY-Säätiö and the Jane and Aatos Erkko foundation.
In the PREMUROSA project, TAU will be in charge of contributing in profiling material and characterizing material/proteins/ECM/ mesenchymal stem cell interactions.
University of Galway (UOG, www.nuigalway.ie ) is a premier research-led university with a distinguished international reputation for excellence in research and academia. Positioned 243rd in the QS World University Rankings in 2017, the University of Galway finds its place in the top 1% of universities worldwide. In 2013, the University of Galway was awarded the ‘HR Excellence in Research’ logo by the European Commission in recognition of their commitment in implementing the principles of European Charter & Code for Researchers. University of Galway is among the top 50 best performing universities in Europe for Horizon 2020. University of Galway has been awarded 68 Horizon 2020 projects, up to June 2017. The awards include: 5 ERC; 17 Marie Curie awards amongst many others. In 2016, University income exceeded €220 million of which over €55 million was from competitive external research funding. University of Galway is involved in over 90 Horizon 2020 projects and has received over €45 million in direct funding from the programme.
Within the PREMUROSA project, University of Galway will be in charge of contributing in profiling material and characterizing material/ECM/cell interaction.
Premurosa partner organisations
Trustech s.r.l. (TRS, www.trustech.it/) is the first Italian private technological tranfer organization specialized on Micro and Nanotechnology, which is able to develop, prototype and produce costumized MEMS and Nano-devices. Trustech has begun to produce MEMS sensors and microfluidic Lab on Chip (LOC) for environment and biotech diagnostics. Trustech multi-disciplinary team is high skilled and able to face technological challenge in different point of view but strongly focused to industrial applications.
In PREMUROSA project Trustech will pool its microfluidic platform and its capability to develop specific surface modifications for other partner’s requests
Medacta International SA (MDC, www.medacta.com/) is a Swiss medical device company developing, manufacturing and distributing orthopaedic and neurosurgical medical devices worldwide. The company mission consists in allowing patients to regain a healthier and more active lifestyle through products and services which make surgery and rehabilitation simpler, faster and more effective.
In the PREMUROSA project, Medacta International SA provides inputs to doctoral-level training to maximize the future resaerchers employability and supports young scientists with its expertise on both biomechanics and biomaterials of orthopedic devices.
Science on the Street (SoS, www.znc.si/english/) is a non-profit institute for the promotion of science, established by the Slovenian Academic Society for Engineering and Technology (SATENA) and the team members. It is based upon the project “Science on The Street, Knowledge on The Go” running since 2013. The activities of the institution encompass the organisation of public lectures and debates on science and technology, as well as science slams, science-related round tables, news coverage, blogs, video and audio records of the lectures, competitions, as well as training of young researches in public speaking.
In PREMUROSA SoS will be involved in particular in communication and public engagement related issues
The Nudge (NUDGE, www.nudge.nl ) is a consultancy agency in Food- and Life Sciences. It provides services related to the entire process chain spanning from idea, via strategy towards implementation. Its premises are located at the independent Life Sciences park Pivot Park in Oss and work closely together with Health Valley Radboud Nijmegen and Brightlands biomaterial campus in Limburg (South-NL) as well as Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC) and Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). The Nudge is currently developing and building a global platform for health professionals to educate, connect and inspire them in applicating biomaterials successfully in their daily surgeries. The TOBIG (Translational Orthopaedic Biomaterials Interest Group) is a state-of-the-art and up-to-date academic standard, as well as the global education tool in biomaterial healthcare.
The added value of The Nudge in the PREMUROSA project consists in sharing its expertise with ESRs and with the entire Consortium in disseminating and communicating research advancements to the large public.
BTech Innovation (BTI, www.btech.com.tr) is an innovative company working in the field of medical 3D printing, 3D modelling, design for additive manufacturing and develops know-how in industrial applications. In the field of healthcare, BTI provides services such patient specific implants, bone ingrowth stimulating implant surfaces, 3D modelling from radiological images and physical patient specific 3D Printed models for pre-surgery planning. BTech Innovation is also a certified training center of Materialise and provides 3D modeling and design training for professionals especially academicians. BTI also makes research in the field of biodegradable implants with national tissue engineering institution. BTI carries out ISO 13485 and ISO 9001 certificates for their medical applications. BTI has activities in the field of patient specific implants and patients’ specific treatments.
Within the PREMUROSA project, BTech enables ESRs to get a first-hand experience in business environment by making them participing in industrial set-up of 3D printing materials.
EU CORE Consulting S.r.l. (EUCORE, www.eucore.eu) is a private company providing project identification, design, management, accounting, evaluation and partnership services for public and private organizations across Europe. Building on a large experience of consultancy on fundraising and on EU projects’ implementation, EU CORE organises and holds a wide range of training courses on a variety of issues related to EU project design and management, focusing particularly on H2020, aimed at both researchers and administrative staff, most of them belonging to universities and research centres. In particular: a)in the last 5 years EU CORE has organized hundreds of training courses attended by an average of 700 participants per year in disciplines consistent to the training to be offered to PREMUROSA ESRs; b) over the years the company has hosted several trainees in its premises and they are now all employed with steady positions in roles related to project design and management
In PREMUROSA project, EU CORE provides training in project design and management, busisness skill, IPR related issues, Responsible Research Innovation principles with a particular focus on Ethics and Open Sciences and assists the Coordinator in the project management endeaveours
