280M of people worldwide suffers from major depressive disorders (MDD). Although a well-populated therapeutic landscape of anti-depre280M of people worldwide suffers from major depressive disorders (MDD). Although a well- populated therapeutic landscape of anti-depressants, the number of patients in remission is particularly low with not more than 6% of the patients who benefit from the current therapeutic journey. OPADE objective is to identify key biomarkers that support the decision-making process of the healthcare providers. The project focuses on the microbiota – brain -axis which plays a major role in mental health and in particular MDD. Through clinical investigations, the consortium partners will study the combination between genetics, epigenetics, microbiome and inflammatory networks to: - Establish patient profiles to predict and optimise the efficacy of the antidepressants prescribed with an increase in the remission rate and reduction of impairment of real-life functioning, - Establish the possible correlation between neuroinflammatory indices, target indicators of the microbiome, metabolomics, immune-profile linked, epigenomic, enzymatic algorithms, - Evaluate molecular and non-molecular biomarkers that may represent predictive indices of recurrence - Discover new molecular targets for a personalised approach, - Improve the diagnostic accuracy for primary prevention, - Evaluate retrospectively, using accurate anamnesis, the onset of depressive symptoms in adolescence. - Establish how much and to what extent do blood biomarkers correlate with other specific biomarkers 350 patients between 14 and 50 years will be recruited in 4 EU and international countries for 24 months. Real-time EEG and patient cognitive assessment will be collected with blood, stool and saliva samples. Results and analysis will be used to train the AI / ML predictive tool, the main outcome of the project. A patient empowerment tool will be deployed over the project duration.

Transnational challenges are pressing issues in any region. They transcend national borders and defy unilateral remedies. Multilateral efforts and capacity building remain fragmented. Regional efforts rarely bear fruit. As a result, despite two-decades of effort, transnational challenges cannot be understood and responded effectively. There has already been a growing call to rethink the existing approaches arguing for the need to understand the nature and scope of transnational challenges better, why the existing approaches and frameworks for cooperation, collaboration, and coordination do not work, and how they can be responded. Transnational challenges hit the Mediterranean particularly hard. Unilateral, multilateral, and regional responses to them in the region remain fragmented and ineffective. TRACHMED is a research and staff exchange programme intended to contribute to the global, regional, and national efforts of understanding and responding transnational challenges by conducting research in Mediterranean on three such issues: climate change, migration and forced displacement, and energy insecurity. It brings together an international, intersectoral, and interdisciplinary research team to 1) collect, interpret and process original empirical data on selected transnational challenges with a transnational perspective, 2) engage with the existing conceptual and theoretical debates and contribute to the conceptual and methodological approaches for studying, comprehending, and responding to transnational challenges, 3) develop and sustain a transnational network of researchers, practitioners, and institutions in the Mediterranean, thus increase the research capacity and shared knowledge and cooperation, 4) update scientific knowledge on these issues for relevant EU policies, political and economic actors interested or already working in the region, and to inform international organizations and decision-makers in the region.

Corruption has become a buzzword in both academic and policy debates over the last three decades. The initial view that “corruption greases the wheels of economic growth” in the newly independent states of Africa and Asia has lost its validity in the light of the current ever-growing global coalition against corruption, spearheaded by Transparency International and the World Bank. Despite the unrelenting global anti-corruption efforts, one thing seems clear: There is no such thing as a remedy to this “cancer”. In the light of the obvious failure of global anti-corruption initiatives, there has been a growing call to rethink the existing approaches, arguing for the necessity to understand better what corruption is, why it occurs, and what we can do to stop it. MOCCA is a research and staff exchange programme intended to contribute to the global and national efforts of understanding and counteracting corruption by conducting research on the multilevel orders of corruption in five countries in post-Soviet Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). This will enable the MOCCA team to: 1) gather original empirical data (based on research solidly grounded in fieldwork) on the interplay between international law norms, national laws, and local legal cultures and informal norms in Central Asia and their implications for understanding corruption and its societal effects; 2) engage with and situate our research in relevant theoretical debates and thereby advance scholarly debates on (anti-) corruption by developing new conceptual, methodological and comparative approaches to study and understand it; and 3) provide strategic intelligence for EU-based political and economic actors interested or already working in the region, and to inform international organisations and decision-makers in the EU and Central Asia on ways to combat corruption and improve the business and investment climate, the rule of law and governance in the region.

According to the latest World Migration Report, 12 of the 20 top destinations for international migrants in 2020 were countries not belonging to what are considered traditional (Western) migrant-receiving countries in North America, Western Europe, and Australia. Yet, despite these ever-growing migratory processes in non-Western migration locales, the mainstream literature remains largely focused on the study of migrants’ experiences and immigration policies in the context of traditional Western liberal democracies. As a result, major non-Western migration destinations elsewhere in the world remain underrepresented by existing theories and comparative research within migration studies. The overarching objective of the MARS is to increase our scientific understanding about global, regional and national governance of migration and mobilities and thereby to contribute to the global and national efforts to facilitate safe, regular and orderly migration. This aim will be accomplished by conducting research and a staff exchange programme on non-Western migration regimes. More specifically, MARS is constructed around three interlinked goals, which are to 1) collect original empirical data on the interplay between migration governance processes and migrants’ experiences in non-Western migration locales; 2) engage with and situate our research in relevant theoretical and comparative debates within migration studies and thereby advance scholarly discussion on contemporary migration regimes (comparative migration studies) by developing new conceptual and methodological approaches to understanding migratory processes in non-Western locales; and 3) translate research findings into policy-relevant ways, including presentations and policy papers to provide strategic intelligence and policy insights for international organisations, development agencies, decision-makers, and practitioners inside and outside the EU on possible ways to improve migration governance practices.