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JPND is co-leading with the Spanish Ministry of Research a Working Group on Research Mapping in Aging which met for the first time in Brussels last week.

The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP AHA) is the pilot case for the concept of European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs), as announced in theEurope 2020 Strategy.

Endorsed by both the European Parliament and Council, the EIP AHA is requiring close cooperation across public health, research and innovation, ICT as well as industrial policy and competitiveness. A High Level Steering Group is driving the partnership, co-chaired by Vice President Kroes (Digital Agenda) and Commissioner Dalli (Health and Consumers).

The objectives are to pursue a “Triple Win” for Europe – healthy elderly, healthy public finances, healthy business. The target is that by 2020, the number of healthy life years in the EU will have increased on average by 2 years.

The EIP AHA is currently identifying Priority Action Areas.  As part of this process, JPND is co-leading with the Spanish Ministry of Research a Working Group on Research Mapping in Aging which met for the first time in Brussels last week. Philippe Amouyel, Chair of JPND, is a member of the High Level Steering Group and is leading the workshop. Karine Baudin (INSERM_Transfert) is a member of the Sherpa Group. Alex Pemberton of the Medical Research Council, UK presented yesterday on the provisional results of the JPND mapping exercise.

The EIP AHA High level Steering Group is meeting again on September 16th and October 4th to draw up the Strategic Implementation Plan with the aim for this plan to be presented at the December EU Competitiveness Council meeting. The Sherpa group will meet on July 7th to prepare for the Steering Group meeting.

http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm?section=active-healthy-ageing

„Optimisation of appropriate biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases, and harmonisation of their use across Europe“

Speaking at the 8th Management Board meeting of the JPND initiative, Professor Philippe Amouyel, INSERM, and Chair of the JPND, launched ‘The first major activity under the JPND initiative – a joint transnational call to support the optimisation of appropriate biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases, and harmonisation of their use across Europe’.

A full press release about the launch is available at the link below.  

Full details on the call for proposals, including scope of the call, evaluation process, eligible costs and participating funding organisations are available on the JPND website in the ‚Initiatives‘ section, or by clickinghere.

Press Release

The capability to sign up for ‚news‘ and ‚press release‘ alerts has been added to the JPND website.

Interested parties are now able to sign up to one or both of the options below, through an email or an RSS Feed.

  • Sign up for JPND press releases. (These are major items which we feel would be of interest to general or specialist news media.)
  • Sign up for JPND news updates. (These are smaller items which would be of interest to specific audiences, quite possibly including journalists, but these stories don’t get the ‚full-on‘ media treatment; They are not issued through the news wires and PR outlets.)

More information can be found by clicking on the RSS Feed icon at the top right hand corner of this page.

First JPND Scientific Advisary Board workshop takes place in Paris.

Friday the 4th of March 2011 saw the first of three technical workshops which will help shape the initial draft of a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) in neurodegenerative disease. The first workshop will focus in the clinical space. Two further workshops will follow on the 22nd and 31st of March. These will focus on basic science and healthcare respectively.  For more information on these workshops, clickhere.

The JUMPAHEAD project has launched a web-based survey to map current research and resources supporting neurodegeneration research activity across 23 member states. The survey will also capture data on the policy landscape.

According to Dr Robin Buckle, a member of the JPND Management Board, and who is leading the process to draft the Strategic Research Agenda in neurodegenerative disease,

‚The information gathered will be used to help generate the Strategic Research Agenda for future neurodegeneration research in Europe. It is also hoped the database will help facilitate connections between researchers, to enable more collaboration and improve the exploitation of existing resources. It should also provide more scope to attract researchers from other fields into this area. It is likely that the information collected will also be useful to anyone who is interested in finding out about research and policy aimed at addressing the increasing burden of neurodegenerative disease.‘

The web-based survey will be completed by nominated representatives from participating member states.  Further information about the survey can be found at the link below.

Three senior JPND personnel will participate at the AAAS annual meeting in a session entitled ‚Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Need for Multidisciplinary and Global Approaches‘

Professor Philippe Amouyel, Chair of the JPND Management Board, Professor Thomas Gasser, Chair of the JPND Scientific Advisory Board and Professor Laura Fratiglioni, member of the JPND Scientific Advisory Board will be present at the session which takes place on;

Sunday, February 20, 2011
1:00 PM-2:30 PM
145A (Washington Convention Center)

Dr. Neil Buckholtz, of the National Institute on Aging will also participate.

The session will be chaired by the Director of DG-Health and Innovation at the European Commission (EC) Dr. Ruxandra Draghia-Akli, and was organised by Dr. Elmar Nimmesgern at the EC.

More details of the session are available at the first link below.  The second link contains general information on the whole AAAS multi day event.

Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain and Cristina Garmendia, the Spanish Minister for Science and Innovation both extended a warm welcome to the JPND Management Board at its 7th meeting which took place in Madrid on 28 January.

The text of the Queen’s and the Minister’s speechs are shown below.

Photographs from the event and the original Spanish versions of the speeches are also available to download at the end of this article.  (Both texts were translated with the aid of Google translator.)

Speech from Her Majesty Queen Sofia

Madrid, January 28, 2011

I want my first words to express my warm greetings to all representatives of the European Union countries that make up this working group and those of partner countries who join this important initiative.

It gives me great satisfaction to see how the French Government was able to launch this magnificent scientific cooperative action during the French Presidency in July 2008. This initiative reflects the concerns and work of my foundation in the field of Alzheimer’s and neurodegenerative diseases, initiated in 2002, and culminating with the inauguration in 2007 of Alzheimer Centre of the Queen Sofia Foundation.

I am sure that the Spanish Government, represented here by our Minister of Science and Innovation, will actively participate in this exciting project, providing managers and scientists to formulate the Joint Programme.

I express my unconditional support for this initiative and pledge to move the Joint Programming for consideration and possible inclusion in a conference by the Global Alzheimer’s Research Summit, that my Foundation is organizing on the 22 and 23 of September in Madrid 2011. This meeting will focus on basic research, along with clinical, epidemiological and social developments, and for which we have the generous support of the Spanish Government.

Finally, I express my sincere appreciation to the entire scientific community, who devote their time and skills to improve the situation of patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Neurodegenerative Diseases, as well as their families and carers.

Thank you very much.

Speech from Cristina Garmendia, Minister for Science and Innovation

Majesty, Director of Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Members of the Joint Programming Initiative on Neurodegenerative Diseases, in particular Alzheimer’s disease, Friends:

Let me begin by giving you all a warm welcome to our country. It is a pleasure for us to host this seventh meeting of the JPND Management Board.

A project that is in itself an accurate representation of the message that the Government of Spain wants to communicate to the public: the need to tackle together, and from all possible perspectives, the challenges faced by Spain and Europe, as a society and economy in the coming years.

Among the most pressing challenges, is to address the aging population and respond to social and health consequences of this process. This challenge, like many others, can be overcome only with more knowledge, more innovation and better links between the two.

Ladies and Gentlemen, in this context, the Joint Programme U.E. for Research in Alzheimer and other neurodegenerative diseases, is emerging as a role model for science and for the European healthcare. A pioneer of performance that we must be proud and to which we give our full attention.

We speak of a biomedical field in which Spain has significant resources and scientific capabilities. Not surprisingly, only in 2010, the Ministry has invested € 16M in research on Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases. With these resources, hundreds of Spanish research groups, carry out their daily work with determination, with discretion, with passion for their work.

During the year 2011 the Spanish people will also have a unique opportunity to recognize this effort as we celebrate the International Year for Research on Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases.

To promote this initiative, we have launched a consortium responsible for coordinating all activities. In addition we wanted to encourage private sponsorship in this area, through the adoption of tax incentives for agents to invest in research in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Behind all these actions is the constant support of her Majesty the Queen, her special sensitivity to this disease, their families and the professionals engaged in daily combat against Alzheimer’s. It provides a valuable reminder for all that from our different responsibilities, we have the opportunity to contribute to this cause.

I conclude by encouraging all parties present and participating in this Joint Programme to continue their excellent work.

I am convinced that this knowledge and enthusiasm and commitment are the best weapons we have to fight this disease. As a member of the Government of Spain, but also as a scientist and as a citizen I transfer my support and appreciation.

Thank you for your attention.

Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain and Minister of Science and Innovation, Christina Garmendia will meet and address the Board

The fourth JPND Management Board meeting in Madrid will be see Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain and Spain’s Minister of Science and Innovation, Christina Garmendia address its members. Queen Sofia has been an active champion and supporter of Alzheimers patients.

FP7 funding was approved for the JUMPAHEAD project to commence on 1 September 2010. This is a 3-year project which is a coordination action in support of the implementation of Joint Programming to combat neurogegenerative diseases (JPND). JPND is a completely new collaborative approach to European health research.

Initial work has begun to develop and implement a Strategic Research Agenda to address the medical and societal impacts of neurodegenerative diseases.  As more staff are hired on the project, the activity will ramp up in the coming weeks and months.

TheJUMPAHEAD project is part-funded by a €2m FP7 grant entitled JUMPAHEAD, GA no. 260774.