In the past, confessions and testimonies were sufficient to convince magistrates and members of the jury. Nowadays, the “scientific evidence” has become a basic element for criminal investigations. A recent review made by Brummer et al, 2011 entitled “Forensic quest for age determination of bloodstains” clearly states that “until now, using bloodstains to determine the time elapsed since the crime was committed is still not possible”. This time elapsed since the bloody event was committee enables to check the witnesses’ statements, limits the number of suspects and assesses alibis. With an objective of investigation costs savings and manpower savings, a quick orientation for the investigators based on an accurate age determination of the bloodstain is inestimable. In order to improve forensic protocol, fundamental knowledge are requested on the blood physical properties such as its rheology, wetting, spreading, fragmentation and drying; this is the purpose of D-Blood. Blood is a complex fluid which physical properties are not well characterized. Its rheology is clearly non-Newtonian for people in good health, its wettability is close to water but exhibits differences on soft surfaces due to the presence of colloids that change the contact line dynamics. While whole blood surface tension is very close to pure water, human blood serum is very different. All these physical properties are required to understand the spreading, fragmentation of blood and its drying and cracking. This ANR proposal intends, in the frame of specific applications, to answer “open questions” in both the scientific and forensic communities. In order to do that, we spread the work into six tasks each of them focusing on a question/problem to answer/solve. The proposal makes use of four French partners with all different skills on rheology (LRP and ENSCP), wetting, spreading and (ENSCP and IUSTI), fragmentation (ENSCP, IRCGN and NFI) and drying (IUSTI and IRCGN). Besides to the four French partners, NFI is an international collaborator involved in the research and has interactions with ENSCP and IRCGN in the frame of the application side of the proposal on the drying dynamics of bloodstain pattern and the fragmentation of blood on crime scenes. NFI will not be funded in the frame of this proposal. D-Blood is composed of four fundamental tasks. The first tasks T1 will provide the driving mechanisms involved during the evaporation of drops and pools of blood and other complex fluids, the second task T2 will provide the delamination and cracking mechanisms occurring at the end of the blood evaporation. The blood rheology and wetting will be fully analyzed in the frame of task T3 while the blood fragmentation and spreading will be explained in Task T4. The first four tasks bring inputs useful in the frame of task T5. In task T5 we will provide new forensic protocols to be use on crime scenes. All the data collected in the frame of these five tasks T1 to T5 will be synthesized in task T6 under the supervision of D. Bonn to achieve a consistent review paper. The expectations are important in the frame of the forensic community to have a reliable and efficiency aging method in crime scene. The approach that we choose here is very innovative allying the skills of fundamental laboratories (IUSTI, ENSCP, LRP) with applied ones (IRCGN and NFI). The outcomes on the rheology, wetting and spreading of complex fluids are also of great interest in the community. We intend to achieve at the end of the four years project several high quality papers raised in the frame of this proposal.

Gustave Roussy (GR) is coordinating efforts with five other European Comprehensive Cancer Centers (CCCs) to form a pan-European virtual e-CCC. Its objectives include launching clinical trials that refine patient stratification due to concomitant analysis of a) patient anti-tumoral immunity and b) the tumor genome. Resulting trials will benefit cancer patients by allowing the best possible combinations of drugs to be used against molecular targets, and by triggering re-activation of patient immune response to tumors. The project plans to collaborate with industrial and biopharmaceutical companies who have expressed their interest in participating in future projects/calls for proposals to support the network’s goals. Six European centers—Gustave Roussy (GR) Cancer Campus in FR, Cambridge Cancer Centre in UK, Karolinska Institute (KI) in Stockholm SE, Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in Amsterdam NE, Val d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) in Barcelona ES, and the German Cancer Research Centre & National Centre for Tumour Diseases (DKFZ/NCT) in Heidelberg DE—together form a working consortium, “6C3” whose goal is to address the cancer research-patient care continuum by uniting their translational research activities. Task Forces have already met to determine the next steps to take and assign action points & roles as follows: - Employing new methodologies in clinical trials - Harmonization of procedures to run common clinical trials - Exploring tumor heterogeneity in a defined tumor site and between tumor-different metastatic sites - Following therapeutic outcomes by analyzing circulating tumoral DNA - Genomics to inform clinical decision making - IT data platform/data warehouse and integrated predictive modeling tools - Clinical imaging to evaluate treatment response Work packages, led by each of the CCCs have been drafted with deliverables and milestones following the initial work done by the Task forces. Gustave Roussy, as Project Coordinator, has been one the first centers in France and Europe to initiate innovative trials based on genomics. In addition, the institute’s strengths in basic tumor immunology support its role as a leader in demonstrating the efficiency of different immune therapies, either alone, in combination, or associated with targeted therapies in metastatic melanoma. GR’s European Affairs Office has 13 years’ experience preparing & supporting 51 European Projects overall. The European Office—which meets regularly with National Contact Points—will support future 6C3 proposals both during the preparation for and reporting phases. The innovative discoveries stemming from the boon in translational research, new clinical trials, methods & tools (such as a data sharing platform) created by the network will all contribute to the eventual formation of a pan-European e-CCC. The “6C3” network will become a one-stop-shop for biopharmaceutical companies to perform innovative clinical trials across Europe. The complementary area(s) of expertise within the network will build local and global expertise and will ultimately have a positive impact on results generated by the project. GR is coordinating an effort that brings together the best CCCs in Europe and as such the proposal will help to raise France’s profile as a leader in of truly personalized medicine in oncology. This work unites various experts in private industry—from biopharmaceutical to clinical imaging and biological testing—a necessity to successfully develop novel treatments. Anticipated results must contribute to lowering societal costs and reducing toxicity to a minimum for cancer patients. Overall, the project aims to increase Europe’s attractiveness as a site to perform clinical trials. France will surely benefit from being a part of these efforts.

The ForMAT project addresses limitations in forensic DNA profiling, particularly in criminal cases, disaster victim identification (DVI), and legal age assessment for asylum claimants. Traditional DNA methods struggle with unsolved cases, mass disasters, and legal age estimation. ForMAT focuses on DNA methylation (DNAm) as a solution, using epigenetic markers to estimate age and lifestyles, as well to predict tissue type. This approach enhances criminal investigations by narrowing suspect profiles and expedites missing person identification in mass disasters, improving the return of remains to families. In asylum cases, DNAm offers a radiation-free alternative for assessing age, reducing reliance on X-rays. ForMAT builds on the VISAGE project, aiming to advance these tools from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 to TRL 7. By developing new DNAm kits and a bioinformatic applicaiton including forensic prediction models, ForMAT enables law enforcement to estimate age, to infer lifestyles and to identify the tissue-of origin from DNA samples. Kits include a DNAm somatic kit, as well as a DNAm germ-line kit for criminal cases, a DNAm DVI kit for guiding in the identification process of human remains, and a DNAm legal age kit for asylum assessments. The integration of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies, including second- and third-generation sequencing, enhances forensic workflows and ensures high accuracy even with degraded samples. The ForMAT consortium , consisting of 11 EU institutions, leverages expertise across countries and disciplines to bring these innovations to real-world use. Members include leading universities, police bodies, and forensic institutes, committed to scaling up, testing, and validating these tools across Europe. Their involvement in international forensic boards ensures widespread dissemination, aiming for broad adoption of ForMAT’s epigenetic molecular tools in forensic science, ultimately enhancing investigative practices and public safety.

Sexual violence affects 1 in 10 women across Europe and has increased by 10% alone in 2021-2022. Most cases involve complex biological mixtures containing cells from the victim and perpetrator(s). Current forensic methods struggle to isolate individual DNA profiles, leaving many cases unresolved and perpetrators unprosecuted. Addressing these limitations is critical to improving evidence interpretation, ensuring justice for victims, and reducing societal impacts. CapCell aims to deliver a new approach to improve forensics and lawful evidence collection with innovative microfluidics and single-cell genomics technologies to overcome the limitations of mixed DNA evidence. Specifically, we will develop the CapCell toolkit comprised of ten easily integrated modules that capture, select, isolate, sequence and interpret individual cells of interest. We will co-create novel strategies and best practices with end-users and industry to improve evidence collection from postcoital swabs and contact traces. Recovered intact cells from male contributors will then be selected and isolated using innovative mobile microfluidic devices. By employing novel concepts, we will advance follow-up DNA sequencing assays and analysis tools to target diverse forensic biomarkers with single-cell resolution. We will align interpretation frameworks to suit single-cell DNA analysis and leverage machine learning to automate the forensic process. Eventually, CapCell will achieve its goal by validating and implementing the new toolkit (TRL5-7) in the relevant end-user environment, with the support of several forensic science institutes and police forces. To reach its ambitious objectives, CapCell brings together an experienced intersectoral consortium of 13 partners from 8 European countries, with complementary expertise in forensic genomics, biosensor technology, bioinformatics, statistics and technology prototyping. Ultimately, CapCell will contribute to a safer and healthier society across Europe.