A team from the Life Sciences and Biotechnology Center at our Institute has received a grant of EUR 1.5 million to carry out a project focused on research into neuropsychiatric disorders. Łukasiewicz – PORT serves as the coordinator of a consortium composed of prestigious European research institutions.
The SAME-NeuroID project (Standardized Approaches to Modelling and Examination of Neuropsychiatric Disorders) was developed in cooperation with three renowned European research centers: the Paris Brain Institute, the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, and Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam. Łukasiewicz – PORT acts as the leader and coordinator of the project. Our team’s proposal was ranked among the top five selected from 391 applications submitted under the Horizon Europe Twinning program.
The main objective of the SAME-NeuroID project is to develop common standards for the creation and use of models of neuropsychiatric disorders. Currently, one of the greatest challenges faced by researchers is the use of different research methods across laboratories, which often makes it impossible to compare research results. The unification of procedures and standards between laboratories will enable effective and reliable implementation of many future research projects using the existing and well-established procedures of our Twinning partners. The long-term goal of the project is to establish a pan-European network of laboratories using the same standardized methods for research activities.
One of the outcomes of the project will be a research platform designed as a repository of developed procedures, as well as the establishment of a laboratory at Łukasiewicz – PORT where these procedures will be tested and validated. Cooperation with laboratories at partner institutions, where the developed procedures will also be verified, will be further developed and expanded.
At our Institute, the project proposal was prepared by a team consisting of:
Dr. hab. Witold Konopka, Project Coordinator (Head of the Neuroplasticity and Metabolism Research Group),
Dr. Michał Ślęzak (Head of the Biology of Astrocytes Research Group),
Dr. hab. Tomasz Prószyński (Head of the Synaptogenesis Research Group),
Dr. Michał Malewicz (Director of the Life Sciences and Biotechnology Center, Head of the Genome Dynamics Research Group),
Beata Lubicka (Senior Specialist for International Project Acquisition).
The SAME-NeuroID project includes both scientific and supporting activities, and its program is divided into several areas. In addition to research, it includes educational and workshop activities for experienced researchers as well as PhD students and undergraduate students, the organization of joint workshops, symposia, and conferences, as well as technology transfer.
The project is planned to run for three years and is scheduled to conclude in the second half of 2025.
