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The European Joint Programming Initiative on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) launches its highly anticipated International Scientific Meeting

Leading researchers from 30 JPND supported projects on neurodegenerative disease research will gather in Brussels on the 28th April 2022, for the JPND[1] /JPco-fuND 2 mid-term Symposium.

Following the highly successful JPND /JPco-fuND Symposium in 2019, JPND will be holding yet another symposium this Thursday, 28th April 2022 to disseminate up-to-date research achievements from 38 research projects from the JPND/JPco-fuND calls of 2017 – 2018 and the JPco-fuND2 calls of 2019. Project coordinators and their research consortiums, leading researchers and stakeholders will meet at the Royal Museums of the Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels for a one-day symposium, to liaise, network and facilitate knowledge exchange and best practices in the field of neurodegenerative disease research. This promises to provide a unique platform and opportunity for researchers to find out about one another’s work, communicate their latest research findings from their projects, build new relationships and enhance existing ones.

 JPND Chair, Professor Philippe Amouyel says: “The aim of this symposium is to facilitate knowledge sharing and communication between the different research groups and to disseminate up-to-date research achievements from all completed JPND supported projects to relevant stakeholders. Networking and knowledge exchange between JPco-fuND projects and other JPND-supported projects, as well as among other conference attendees is key and help to create an international powerful community of researchers involved in neurodegenerative research. Tackling this global challenge is clearly beyond the scope and resources of any one country.”

Project topics to be presented will range from Alzheimer’s to Parkinson’s diseases to rarer diseases such as Huntington’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Prion disease, Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Spinocerebellar Ataxia.

 

[1] The EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) is the largest global research initiative aimed at tackling the challenge of neurodegenerative diseases. JPND aims to increase coordinated investment between participating countries in research aimed at finding causes, developing cures, and identifying appropriate ways to care for those with neurodegenerative diseases.

The EU-funded European Brain Research Area project today releases its long-awaited
European Research Inventory and Mapping Report, providing insight into the brain research
activities funded at the European level within the EU framework programmes FP7 and Horizon
2020, as well as the funding initiatives of the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease
Research (JPND), ERA-NET NEURON and the Human Brain Project.The mapping report
provides an overview of the current state of brain research in Europe and which areas within
brain research, if any, are the focus in Europe. It evidences that despite steadily increasing
support, funding is still lacking in all areas of brain research in the EU and more focus is
particularly needed on the importance of animal models, increasing public patient engagement
and encouraging and enabling data sharing.

“EBRA’s mapping reports highlights that constant support and increased investment in brain
research is still vital,” reacts EBRA Project Coordinator, Prof Monica Di Luca. “Despite enormous
efforts of the scientific and clinical community, the challenges in the brain space are tremendous,
spurred by a high prevalence of brain disorders and increasing disease burden.”

The need for efficiency in funding brain research is also clear: budgets should be allocated in
such a way that allows brain researchers to deliver high quality research and support of
initiatives that aim to reduce fragmentation, and collaboration and cooperation should be
prioritised. Stakeholders need to be able to work more effectively together to better leverage
their collective knowledge and succeed in delivering game-changing innovative treatment
solutions.

From 2007 to 2019, the European Commission and leading European brain research initiatives
have allocated €6 billion to about 4,000 brain research projects, an average of €500 million per
year. From 2008 to 2012, an average of 400 million was invested per year, increasing between
2014 to 2018 to 550 million, marking a steady growth. „The EBRA inventory and mapping report
demonstrates that annual fundings can reach significant levels to support highly competitive
research projects through sustainable, transnational initiatives,” remarks Prof Philippe Amouyel,
Chair of the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND). However,
continued funding of research consortia across countries is key for a lasting impact on
collaboration and innovation in the European and global brain research area. “It is now time to
accelerate this momentum through an ambitious partnership on brain health in Horizon Europe
under a coordinated approach,“ continued Prof Amouyel.

A brain health partnership in Europe should be a common goal to prioritise and ensure brain
research is recognised as an urgent need and that the maximum impact and benefit of research
breakthroughs reaches society.

The @EBRA_EU Mapping Report provides insight into all brain research activities funded at the
European level within EU framework programmes #FP7 and #Horizon2020 and initiatives @JPNDeurope, @EraNeuron & @HumanBrainProj.

Take a closer look -> https://bit.ly/3snTma0

 

On 27 th May 2021, JPND held a virtual workshop at the annual Dementia Forum X where participants gathered ideas and insights from the world’s leading researchers, policy makers and stakeholders in the field of dementia.

Titled Patient and Public Involvement in Research (PPI), the workshop introduced JPND and its PPI journey. JPND Chair, Professor Philippe Amouyel, kickstarted the workshop with a brief introduction on JPND, its goals and its longstanding engagement in PPI. Under the expertise of Professor Mogens Hørder, JPND’s management board member and representative of member state Denmark, JPND developed a concrete strategy for the implementation of PPI in 2015. Implemented as a learning process and in parallel with JPND’s annual calls, offering the best platform to showcase PPI, researchers are able to truly understand what PPI in research means and how to handle PPI in research.

Moderated by Richard Andersson, JPND’s management board member and representative from the Swedish Research Council and Alexandra Rodrigues, JPND’s representative from Innovation Fund Denmark, the workshop was capped and attended by 50 participants and many more who showed up to listen. JPND took this opportunity to showcase two pre-recorded interviews by PPI expert Professor Mogens Hørder, and Mr Chris Roberts, Chairperson for the European Working Group of People with Dementia under Alzheimer Europe and Ms Jayne Goodrick, member of the Carers Advisory Panel for Dementia Carer Counts.

Professor Hørder talked about the importance and value of PPI in research (click here for his interview) and Mr Chris Roberts and Ms Jayne Goodrick shared their personal experiences of living with dementia as a patient and a carer (click here for their interview) respectively. Guest speaker and Vice-Chair of the JPND Scientific Advisory Board, Professor Martin Rossor, discussed the concept of “patient” in PPI. He also emphasised the need to take into account participants‘ former experiences when engaging in PPI.

Through both live and chat sessions, participants engaged with one another and posed questions ranging from what should be done and avoided to ensure an enriching and meaningful PPI experience in dementia research for both patients and researchers; how and when clinicians can match and mediate interactions between patients and researchers, to how researchers and patients can be guided and trained on the formal and informal aspects of PPI.

The workshop was a success in creating greater awareness to JPND’s engagement of PPI in research and providing participants and stakeholders a platform to connect, and share their views about PPI’s best practices.

 

A CALL FOR LINKING PRE-DIAGNOSIS DISTURBANCES OF PHYSIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS TO NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES

The EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) initiative has announced an €19 million transnational call for multinational research on linking pre-diagnosis disturbances of physiological systems to neurodegenerative diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases are debilitating and largely untreatable conditions that are strongly linked with age. Worldwide, there are estimated to be 47 million people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders, the most common class of neurodegenerative diseases. This figure is expected to double every 20 years as the population ages. The total direct and informal care costs of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and related disorders are in the range of €105-160 billion per year across the European Union and about US$ one trillion worldwide. Existing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases are limited in effect and mainly address the symptoms rather than the cause or the progressive course. In this context, the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) was established to better coordinate research efforts across countries and disciplines to more rapidly find causes, develop cures and identify better ways to care for people with neurodegenerative diseases.

The development of efficient treatments for most neurodegenerative diseases is hindered by the fact that their detection intervenes at late stages by which time the integrity of the nervous tissue has been compromised. Poorly characterised early physiological disturbances known to appear before unambiguous symptoms of each neurodegenerative disease are detected. These changes may include, among others, the disruption of sleep, olfaction, hearing, vision, metabolic factors as well as social engagement. All these signs have the potential to be used as early indicators of later diseases, and in most cases have the advantage that they are measurable in natural daily life environments. Since some of these changes are very likely early indicators of nervous system dysfunction, the identification of the circuits and molecular pathways being affected might reveal promising targets for early interventions and therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

In this context, JPND announced today a new joint transnational call inviting multi-national research teams to submit proposals for ambitious, innovative and multi-disciplinary collaborative projects that aim at the detection, measurement and understanding of early disease indicators related to neurodegenerative diseases, with potential for the development of new diagnostics or interventions.

“One of the major limitations of neurodegenerative diseases is their sneaky sub-clinical course that can last for years before the first symptoms appear. Very often, clinicians have noticed a posteriori that these symptoms had been preceded many years before by disturbances of major physiological functions. Thus bringing together research forces in Europe and beyond through JPND will allow us to better understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of the appearance of neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, this will help to identify early indicators of their occurrence before the neuronal potential is too altered, facilitating the implementation of treatments.” says Professor Philippe Amouyel, Chair of the JPND Management Board.

Proposals submitted under this call must focus on one or several of the following neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, Parkinson’s disease and PD-related disorders, prion diseases, motor-neuron diseases, Huntington’s disease, spinocerebellar ataxia and spinal muscular atrophy. JPND is committed to Patient and Public Involvement, and proposals are expected to engage patients, carers and the public.

In addition, proposals must focus on one or several of the following research areas:

  • Demonstrating the relationship between early neurodegenerative processes and physiological disturbances, e.g. by analysing existing cohorts and longitudinal data.
  • Applying cutting-edge methods or technologies to improve the detection of early symptoms, e.g. by establishing innovative biomarkers and increasing the sensitivity, specificity and/or the robustness of the readouts.
  • Human or animal studies to decipher the neurodegeneration-derived processes causing early disease-specific signatures, e.g. on the neuropathological, cellular, synaptic, metabolic or inflammatory level. The use of well-characterised human cohorts’ data is encouraged.
  • Using digital technologies to link recognisable symptoms to physiological changes associated to neurodegeneration, e.g. by combining clinical, neurophysiological, biochemical, imaging and psychological data.
  • Relating prognostic signs of disease with real-life measurement of physiological disturbances using home-monitoring and/or wearable devices, including wireless sensors for patient monitoring.

Pre-proposals must be submitted no later than 15:00h C.E.T. on March 2, 2021.

For more information about the call, please click here.

The EU Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) was established to better coordinate research efforts across countries and disciplines to more rapidly find causes, develop cures and identify better ways to care for people with neurodegenerative disease. Today more than 40 million people worldwide are estimated to be living with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders – the most common class of neurodegenerative disease – and this figure is expected to rise in the coming decades. The JPND Research and Innovation Strategy identified research priorities and provided a framework for future investment and is available for download here.

Final call information will be published on the JPND website (www.jpnd.eu).

 

The EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) will shortly launch a new multinational call for proposals for “Linking pre-diagnosis disturbances of physiological systems to Neurodegenerative Diseases”.

The development of efficient treatments for most neurodegenerative disease is hindered by the fact that their detection intervenes at late stages in which the integrity of the nervous tissue is very compromised. Purely characterised early physiological disturbances are known to appear before unambiguous symptoms of each neurodegenerative disease are detected. These changes may include, among others, disruption of sleep, olfaction, hearing, vision, metabolic factors as well as social engagement. All these signs have the potential to be used as early indicators of later diseases, and in most cases have the advantage that they are measurable in natural everyday life environments. Since some of these changes are very likely early indicators of nervous system dysfunction, the identification of the circuits and molecular pathways being affected might reveal promising targets for early interventions and therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

For this reason, JPND launches this joint transnational call with a view to promoting research aiming at the detection, measurement and understanding of early disease indicators related to neurodegenerative diseases, with potential for the development of new diagnostics or interventions. Proposals to this call must be ambitious, innovative, multi-disciplinary and multi-national, i.e. include research teams from at least three different countries.

The following funding organisations intend to support this joint transnational call:

  • Australia, National Health and Medical Research Council *
  • Belgium, The Fund for Scientific Research *
  • Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research *
  • Czech Republic, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports *
  • Finland, Academy of Finland *
  • France, French National Research Agency *
  • Germany, Federal Ministry of Education and Research
  • Hungary, National Research, Development and Innovation Office *
  • Israel, Ministry of Health *
  • Italy, Ministry of Health *
  • Luxembourg, National Research Fund *
  • Netherlands, The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Dev. *
  • Norway, The Research Council of Norway *
  • Poland, National Science Centre *
  • Portugal (Azores), The Regional Fund for Science and Technology *
  • Slovakia, Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic*
  • Spain, National Institute of Health Carlos III *
  • Sweden, Swedish Research Council *
  • Switzerland, Swiss National Science Foundation *
  • Turkey, Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey *

* Final decision pending

This will be a two-step call, expected to be launched in early January 2021, with a likely pre-proposal submission deadline in early March 2021. Further details will be provided with the launch of the call.

Please Note:
All information regarding future JPND call topics is subject to change
Final call information will be published on the JPND website (www.jpnd.eu)

The EU Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) has awarded funding to twelve multi-national research teams in order to enable research projects on Novel Imaging and Brain Stimulation Methods and Technologies, that may in time bring about the delivery of targeted and timely prevention and therapies for patients of neurodegenerative diseases.

Major increases in the range and power of technologies across the basic, clinical and patient-centred domains of JPND have been seen in recent years. These include the use of imaging and analysis technologies, from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to Position Emission Tomography (PET) to Molecular Imaging at both a molecular and a whole body imaging level, and the use of brain stimulation techniques such as Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), Neuromodulation and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). Whilst techniques as such help to better understand, treat or diagnose neurodegenerative diseases, there is a need to assess the potential of these approaches to deliver new and better treatment options for these debilitating diseases.

JPND has selected twelve teams with ambitious, innovative, multinational and multidisciplinary collaborative research projects aimed at the development of novel and the advanced use of existing cutting-edge imaging and brain stimulation technologies related to neurodegenerative diseases.

“The incredible progresses of brain imaging and brain stimulation during the last ten years, thanks to the development of new technologies, bioinformatics and artificial intelligence, offers new opportunities to better diagnose and alleviate the consequences of neurodegenerative diseases”, says Professor Philippe Amouyel, Chair of JPND. “Twelve ambitious and innovative research projects that will take stock of these new approaches to deliver new and better treatment options have been selected and will be supported by JPND.”

The twelve projects were recommended for funding* by an independent, international Peer Review Panel based on scientific excellence with input from the JPND advisory board on patient and public involvement. Proposals are presented in alphabetical order according to their acronym.

Visit the call results page here.

 

BioClotAD
Development of a neuroimaging biomarker to identify the pro-coagulant state in Alzheimer’s disease

Coordinator:
Marta Cortes-Canteli, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III, F.S.P., Spain

Partners:
Manuel Desco Menéndez, Hospital General Gregorio Marañón, Spain
Dag Sehlin, Uppsala University, Sweden
Susanne Kossatz, Klinikum rechts der Isar der Technischen Universität München, Germany

Scientific Abstract

 

BRAINSTORM
gloBal RetinAl Imaging coNSorTium fOR alzheiMer’s disease

Coordinator:
Peter van Wijngaarden, Centre for Eye Research Australia, Australia

Partners:
Ingeborg Stalmans, KU Leuven University, Belgium
Gauti Johannesson, Umeå University, Sweden

Scientific Abstract

DEBBIE
Developing a non-invasive biomarker for early BBB breakdown in Alzheimer’s disease

Coordinator:
Matthias Günther, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Germany

Partners:
Eric Achten, Ghent University, Belgium
Henri J.M.M. Mutsaerts, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Netherlands
Udunna Anazodo, Lawson Health Research Institute, Canada
Tormod Fladby, Akershus University Hospital, Norway

Scientific Abstract

DynaSti
Patient-specific dynamical modeling and optimization of Deep Brain Stimulation

Coordinator:
Andreas Horn, Charité – University Medicine Berlin, Germany

Partners:
Bernadette van Wijk, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Martijn Beudel, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Netherlands
Jorge Goncalves, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Alexander Medvedev, Uppsala University, Sweden
Dag Nyholm, Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden
Frank Hertel, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Scientific Abstract

 

ImageTDP43
Imaging heterogeneous TDP-43 neuropathologies

Coordinator:
Magdalini Polymenidou, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Partners:
Patrizia Longone, Fondazione Santa Lucia, Italy
Ruben Smith, Skåne University Hospital, Sweden
John van Swieten, Erasmus Medical Center, Netherlands

 

NEURIPIDES

NEURofeedback for self-stImulation of the brain as therapy for ParkInson DisEaSe

Coordinator:
David Linden, Maastricht University, Netherlands

Partners:
Veerle Visser-Vandewalle, University of Cologne, Germany
Robert Jech, Charles University, Czech Republic
Béchir Jarraya, Université de Versailles-Paris-Saclay, France
Alfonso Fasano, University Health Network, Canada

Scientific Abstract

 

NIPARK
Targeting neuromelanin-linked neuronal dysfunction and degeneration in ageing and Parkinson’s disease using a combined imaging and brain stimulation approach

Coordinator:
Miquel Vila, Vall d’Hebron Research Institute, Spain

Partners:
Stephane Lehericy, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, France
Matthias Prigge, Leibniz-Institut für Neurobiologie, Germany
Matthew Betts, Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen, Germany

Scientific Abstract

 

NeuroPhage
Phage-based targeted neural stimulation in neurodegenerative diseases

Coordinator:
Fabio Benfenati, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Italy

Partners:
Kenneth Dawson, University College Dublin, Ireland
Kristof Zarschler, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
Ludek Šefc, Charles University, Czech Republic
Gilberto Fisone, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
Jean-Antoine Girault, INSERM, France

Scientific Abstract

 

PDWALK
Spinal-cord stimulation technologies and methods to alleviate gait deficits of Parkinson’s disease

Coordinator:
Grégoire Courtine, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Switzerland

Partners:
Jocelyne Bloch, University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland
Erwan Bezard, CNRS, France
Vincent Delattre, Gtx Medical BV, Netherlands

Scientific Abstract

 

PETABC
PET analyses of ABC transporter function for diagnostics and stratification of dementia patients

Coordinator:
Jens Pahnke, University of Oslo, Norway

Partners:
Oliver Langer, Medical University Vienna, Austria
Peter Brust, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
Baiba Jansone, Univiersity of Latvia, Latvia
Ondrej Soukup, University Hospital Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
Fabien Gosselet, Universite d’Artois, France
Henrik Biverstål, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Scientific Abstract

 

REMOPD
Restoring Motor Functions in Parkinson’s Disease with Noninvasive Hybrid Transcranial Neuromodulation

Coordinator:
Saak V. Ovsepian, National Institute of Mental Health, Czech Republic

Partners:
Robert Chen, University of Toronto, Canada
Marc Fournelle, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Germany
Nevzat G. Gençer, Middle East Technical University, Turkey
Walter Paulus, Ludwig Maximillians Universität München, Germany
Toygan Sönmez, Alvimedica Medical Technologies, Turkey

Scientific Abstract

 

SCAIFIELD
Spinocerebellar ataxias: Advanced imaging with ultra-high field MRI

Coordinator:
Tony Stöcker, Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen, Germany

Partners:
Pål Erik Goa, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Pierre Maquet, Liège Université, Belgium
Thomas Klockgether, Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen, Germany

Scientifc Abstract

 

* Please note this is a provisional decision. The final approval from national funding agencies is still ongoing.

 

 

A CALL FOR NOVEL IMAGING AND BRIAN STIMULATION METHODS AND TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES

The EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) initiative has announced an €18 million transnational call for multinational research on novel imaging and brain stimulation methods and technologies for neurodegenerative diseases.

With neurodegenerative diseases on the rise and strongly linked to age, as many as 47 millon people worldwide are estimated to be suffering from Alzheimer’s and related disorders today. This figure is expected to double every 20 years as the population ages.

In recent years, major increases in the range and power of technologies across the basic, clinical and patient-centred domains of JPND have been seen. These include the use of imaging and analysis technologies, from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to Position Emission Tomography (PET) to Molecular Imaging at both a molecular and a whole body imaging level, and the use of brain stimulation techniques such as Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), Neuromodulation and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). Whilst techniques as such help to better understand, treat or diagnose neurodegenerative diseases, there is nevertheless a need to assess the potential of these approaches to deliver new and better treatment options for these debilitating diseases. 

In this context, JPND announced a new call, inviting multinational research teams to submit proposals for ambitious, innovative, multinational and multidisciplinary collaborative research projects aimed at the development of novel and the advanced use of existing cutting-edge imaging and brain stimulation technologies related to neurodegenerative diseases.

Professor Philippe Amouyel, University of Lille (France) and Chair of the JPND Management Board says: „The incredible progresses of brain imaging and brain stimulation during the last ten years, thanks to the development of new technologies, bioinformatics and artificial intelligence, offers new opportunities to better diagnose and alleviate the consequences of neurodegenerative diseases. For its 2020 transnational call, JPND has decided to support ambitious and innovative research projects that will take stock of these new approaches in a trans-disciplinary context. We hope that this highly competitive call will allow us to assess the potential of these approaches to deliver new and better treatment options.”

Proposals submitted under this call must focus on one or several of the following neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, Parkinson’s disease and PD-related disorders, Prion diseases, Motor neuron diseases, Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), Huntington’s disease, Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

In addition, proposals must focus one or several of the following research areas:

  • Imaging technologies
  • Development of novel imaging technologies
  • Improvements to the application of existing cutting-edge imaging technologies
  • Brain stimulation techniques
  • New or improved applications of both invasive and non invasive brain stimulation techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

Pre-proposals must be submitted no later than 15:00h C.E.T. on March 3, 2020.

For more information about the call, please click here.

The EU Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) was established to better coordinate research efforts across countries and disciplines to more rapidly find causes, develop cures and identify better ways to care for people with neurodegenerative disease. Today more than 40 million people worldwide are estimated to be living with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders – the most common class of neurodegenerative disease – and this figure is expected to rise in the coming decades. The JPND Research and Innovation Strategy identified research priorities and provided a framework for future investment and is available for download here.

Final call information will be published on the JPND website (www.jpnd.eu).

Press release English*

Press release French*

Press release German*

*Correction: In our English and French press releases, the date for pre-proposal submissions is listed as 6th March 2020. This is an error. The correct date for pre-proposal submissions is 3rd March 2020. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

The EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) will shortly launch a new multinational call for proposals for “Novel imaging and brain stimulation methods and technologies related to Neurodegenerative Diseases”.

Recent years have seen major increases in the range and power of these technologies across the basic, clinical and patient-centred domains of JPND. This joint transnational call will further promote research aiming at the development of novel and the advanced use of existing cutting-edge brain imaging and brain stimulation technologies related to neurodegenerative diseases. Approaches must be translational and patient-centered.

The upcoming call will focus on the following research areas:

Imaging technologies, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Position Emission Tomography or super-resolution microscopy and molecular imaging techniques have brought about a dramatic improvement in the understanding of the onset, development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. It is the aim to accelerate this progress and to fund research projects that focus on the development of novel imaging technologies or on improvements to the application of existing cutting-edge imaging technologies.

Brain stimulation techniques, such as Deep Brain Stimulation, have proven to directly affect the quality of life of patients. Other techniques, such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, transcranial Direct Current Stimulation or Focused Ultrasound could have potential to offer new non-invasive treatments. It is the aim to fund research that will lead to new or improved applications of both invasive and non-invasive brain stimulation techniques for the diagnosis and the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

The following funding organisations intend to support this joint transnational call:

  • Australia, National Health and Medical Research Council*
  • Austria, Austrian Research Promotion Agency on behalf of BMBWF
  • Belgium, The Research Foundation – Flanders
  • Belgium, The Fund for Scientific Research
  • Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
  • Czech Republic, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports*
  • Denmark, Innovation Fund Denmark*
  • France, French National Research Agency*
  • Germany, Federal Ministry of Education and Research
  • Hungary, National Research, Development and Innovation Office*
  • Ireland, Health Research Board
  • Italy, Ministry of Health*
  • Latvia, State Education Development Agency*
  • Luxembourg, National Research Fund
  • Netherlands, The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development*
  • Norway, The Research Council of Norway*
  • Poland, National Science Centre*
  • Spain, National Institute of Health Carlos III
  • Sweden, Swedish Financial Council
  • Switzerland, Swiss National Science Foundation
  • Turkey, Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey*

* Decision pending

This will be a two-step call, expected to be launched in early January 2020, with a likely pre-proposal submission deadline in March 2020. Further details will be provided with the launch of the call.

Please Note:
All information regarding future JPND call topics is subject to change
Final call information will be published on the JPND website (www.jpnd.eu).

The EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) initiative[1] has launched its updated global Research and Innovation Strategy (RIS), to provide a unified framework for the support of world class research into neurodegenerative diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases are one of the world’s leading medical and societal challenges and there are now expected to be 50 million people worldwide suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. Globally, these numbers show no signs of abating, and it is estimated that by 2050 in Europe alone, the total direct and informal care costs for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease will exceed €350 billion annually.[2]

JPND is the first and largest collaborative research initiative established to tackle the growing challenge posed by neurodegenerative diseases. JPND’s ultimate goal is to accelerate the discovery of a cure and to enable early diagnosis for early personalised treatments. In the meantime, it is essential to implement solutions that can alleviate, albeit partially, the plight of families and the economic burden brought about by the increasing prevalence of this disease in our ageing populations. Thus besides basic research, the scientific endeavour concerns also translational and clinical, and social care and health services researches.

Today’s release of the Research and Innovation Strategy (RIS) updates the common vision of 30 JPND member countries. It renews the strategy that was first published in 2012, to tackle the major societal challenge of neurodegenerative diseases.

JPND speaks to the following individuals about the RIS.

Dr Barbara Kerstiëns, Head of the unit responsible for Non-Communicable Diseases and the Challenge of Healthy Ageing in the European Commissions‘ Directorate-General for Research & Innovation says: “The European Commission is keenly aware that Neurodegenerative Diseases is one of the leading medical and societal challenges of our time. It recognises that JPND has been instrumental in addressing these by aligning and coordinating national efforts among Member States and other countries, reducing fragmentation and duplication in research and overall increasing the effectiveness and impact of research in this field.

JPND’s ambitious new RIS invites multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration as well as engagement with patients, their families and carers. Its five scientific priorities cover the full spectrum of unmet needs – the knowledge gap, the prevention gap, the early diagnosis and disease management gap, as well as the growing socio-economic challenges of caring for and assisting people faced with those diseases. The strategy takes important factors relating to ND care into account, such as comorbidities, sex and gender differences, the role of ageing and the complex ethical issues. Moreover, the RIS recommendations are in line with the Commission’s priorities in fostering innovative partnerships, taking advantage of the latest advances in digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, promoting an Open Access approach and translating research findings into evidenced-based public health policies and, ultimately, better health and social care.”

Professor Philippe Amouyel, University of Lille (France) and Chair of the JPND Management Board says: “The challenge is to tackle neurodegeneration, and in particular, Alzheimer’s disease through an unprecedented collaboration at the European level and beyond. The ultimate goal is to facilitate the cooperation of researchers, to reduce fragmentation, to prevent unnecessary doubling of efforts and to pool and organise resources on a voluntary basis for the benefit of the populations. Our RIS forms the basis for current and future JPND initiatives, as well as a fundamental reference point for the national and organisational strategic plans. It provides a global common framework for future investment that addresses how countries can effectively improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment and patient care.”

JPND Scientific Advisory Board Chair, Professor Thomas Gasser says: “Since the publication of our first RIS in 2012, there have been major advances, both scientific and technological, that have shaped the renewed RIS. Data science, including artificial intelligence-driven methods of data analyses, has transformed many research areas, and this is now reflected in the updated Strategy. Another important issue reflected in the renewed Strategy is the increasing awareness that the inclusion of factors like economic and cultural differences, gender issues and public and patient involvement must clearly play a more prominent role.”  Click here for JPND’s full interview with Prof Gasser.

Professor Mogens Hørder, JPND Management Board Member says: “Since the 2012 research strategy, there has been an increased alignment of goals and methodologies being built up among research institutions of JPND members. The renewed RIS sees the participation of important players outside of Europe in JPND, which forms a valuable basis for the role of JPND in the global investment in neurodegenerative disease research.”

For JPND Executive Board member Dr Jacqueline Hoogendam, “the value of collaborative research should not be underestimated.” She says: “With the common vision adopted by the 30 JPND member countries, JPND enables neurodegenerative disease research in the most pressing areas at a global level, with efficient use of limited resources. In bringing together researchers from different countries whose collaborations extend beyond their joint research activities, JPND contributes to the development of the global community of neurodegenerative disease researchers.”

JPND is committed to aligning and building upon national programmes to increase impact and effectiveness of research and to identify common goals that would benefit from joint action.

JPND has identified a number of thematic scientific priorities for future research:

  • The origins and progression of neurodegenerative diseases
  • Disease mechanisms and models
  • Diagnosis, prognosis and disease definitions
  • Developing therapies, preventive strategies and interventions
  • Health and social care

JPND is working to implement the above goals through:

  • Building supportive infrastructure and platforms via harmonisation of data and materials and promotion of an open access approach to the sharing of data and resources
  • Partnering with industry and healthcare providers and promoting innovation within a multi-partner international funding framework
  • Developing greater interaction with regulators to integrate patient needs
  • Linking worldwide research efforts in neurodegenerative disease research
  • Utilising resources and infrastructure outside of Europe and better connecting global patient public involvement (PPI)
  • Building capacity through strengthening certain neurodegenerative disease research areas and establishing networks across and between disciplines and researchers
  • Developing an evidence-led educational approach to embed a research culture across the full spectrum of health, social and palliative care
  • Strengthening the connection to policy makers
  • Ensuring effective communication of the research agenda and engaging with a wide range of sectors and stakeholders

 

JPND receives support from the European Commission.

 

To download a full copy of the Research and Innovation Strategy, click here.

To download an Executive Summary of the Research and Innovation Strategy, click here.

For more information about the 2019 Research and Innovation Strategy, click here.

For the full interview with JPND’s Scientific Advisory Board Chair Thomas Gasser about the Research and Innovation Strategy, click here.

 

[1] Joint Programming is a collaborative approach supported by the European Commission in which countries define a common vision and a strategic research agenda, in order to address major societal challenges which are beyond the scale of any national research programme. The Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) was established as the pilot for this new type of coordinated approach to research.
[2] Maresova  et al.,Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases: Expected Economic Impact on Europe-A Call for a Uniform European Strategy, 2016, Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 54(3):1123-1133.

 

 

The EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) initiative has announced a joint transnational call for multinational research on personalised medicine for neurodegenerative diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases are debilitating and still largely untreatable conditions. These diseases are characterised by a large variability in their origins, mechanisms and clinical expression, requiring treatments that will need to take into account all these specificities. Deciphering this variability is one of the biggest challenges in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and the way forward is Precision Medicine, supported by highly personalised approaches for the greatest benefit of the patients.

In this context, in partnership with the European Commission, JPND announced today a new call, inviting multinational research teams to submit proposals for ambitious, innovative, multinational and multidisciplinary collaborative research projects to change the trajectory of these debilitating diseases through the development of Precision Medicine approaches.

JPND has chosen to focus in the area of Precision Medicine, which relates to the targeting of specific elements responsible for pathology in a given individual at a particular point in time. It is an emerging approach for disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment that takes into account individual variability in genes, biological/molecular characteristics together with environmental and lifestyle factors.

According to Professor Philippe Amouyel, University of Lille (France) and Chair of the JPND Management Board:

Professor Philippe Amouyel, Chair of JPND

“During the last ten years, researchers have progressively uncovered the high complexity and wide diversity of neurodegenerative diseases. We need now to complete and use this massive amount of knowledge to develop targeted approaches to more efficiently fight the dramatic progression of these diseases.”

According to Professor Thomas Gasser, University of Tübingen (Germany) and Chair of the JPND Scientific Advisory Board:

“Progresses in precision medicine will be a unique way to develop innovative approaches to prevent, slow down and cure neurodegenerative diseases. This call aims to harness the necessary expertise across Europe and globally, to address this research challenge. ”

Professor Amouyel added: “With this in mind, JPND participating countries in close collaboration with the European Commission have identified precision medicine as a major issue to tackle the global challenge of neurodegenerative diseases.”

Proposals submitted under this call, which is open to applicants in 24 countries, must focus on Precision Medicine in one or several of the following research areas:

  • Diagnosis (e.g. biomarkers, imaging data, omics approaches, big data analyses)
  • Prevention (e.g. biomarkers for studying novel treatments and interventions, co-morbidities, digital technologies, stratification within cohort studies and clinical trials)
  • Care (e.g. improvement of social and health care systems, molecular profiling, imaging, lifestyle data)

Proposals must also relate to any or several of the following neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, Parkinson’s disease and PD-related disorders, Prion diseases, Motor Neuron diseases, Hungtington’s disease, Spinocerebellar ataxia and Spinal muscular atrophy. JPND is committed to Patient and Public Involvement, and proposals are expected to engage patients, carers and the public.

Pre-proposals must be submitted no later than 15:00h C.E.T. on March 12, 2019.

For more information about the call, please click here.

 

The EU Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) was established to better coordinate research efforts across countries and disciplines to more rapidly find causes, develop cures and identify better ways to care for people with neurodegenerative disease. Today more than 40 million people worldwide are estimated to be living with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders – the most common class of neurodegenerative disease – and this figure is expected to rise in the coming decades. The JPND Research and Innovation Strategy identified research priorities and provided a framework for future investment and is available for download here.

Final call information will be published on the JPND website (www.jpnd.eu).