The stated goal of RHAPSODY is to define a molecular taxonomy of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) that will support patient segmentation, inform clinical trial design, and the establishment of regulatory paths for the adoption of novel strategies for diabetes prevention and treatment. To address these goals, RHAPSODY will bring together prominent European experts, including the leaders of the diabetes-relevant IMI1 projects to identify, validate and characterize causal biomarkers for T2D subtypes and progression. Our plans are built upon: (a) access to large European cohorts with comprehensive genetic analyses and rich longitudinal clinical and biochemical data and samples; (b) detailed multi-omic maps of key T2D-relevant tissues and organs; (c) large expertise in the development and use of novel genetic, epigenetic, biochemical and physiological experimental approaches; (d) the ability to combine existing and novel data sets through effective data federation and use of these datasets in systems biology approaches towards precision medicine; and (e) expertise in regulatory approval, health economics and patient engagement. These activities will lead to the discovery of novel biomarkers for improved T2D taxonomy, to support development of pharmaceutical activities, and for use in precision medicine to improve health in Europe and worldwide.

Apoptotic cell death is essential for development, immune function or tissue homeostasis, and it is often deregulated in disease. Mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP) is central for apoptosis execution and plays a key role in its inflammatory outcome. Knowing the architecture of the macromolecular machineries mediating MOMP is crucial for understanding their function and for the clinical use of apoptosis. Our recent work reveals that Bax and Bak dimers form distinct line, arc and ring assemblies at specific apoptotic foci to mediate MOMP. However, the molecular structure and mechanisms controlling the spatiotemporal formation and range of action of the apoptotic foci are missing. To address this fundamental gap in our knowledge, we aim to unravel the composition, dynamics and structure of apoptotic foci and to understand how they are integrated to orchestrate function. We will reach this goal by building on our expertise in cell death and cutting-edge imaging and by developing a new analytical pipeline to: 1) Identify the composition of apoptotic foci using in situ proximity-dependent labeling and extraction of near-native Bax/Bak membrane complexes coupled to mass spectrometry. 2) Define their contribution to apoptosis and its immunogenicity and establish their assembly dynamics to correlate it with apoptosis progression by live cell imaging. 3) Determine the stoichiometry and structural organization of the apoptotic foci by combining single molecule fluorescence and advanced electron microscopies. This multidisciplinary approach offers high chances to solve the long-standing question of how Bax and Bak mediate MOMP. APOSITE will provide textbook knowledge of the mitochondrial contribution to cell death and inflammation. The implementation of this new analytical framework will open novel research avenues in membrane and organelle biology. Ultimately, understanding of Bax and Bak structure/function will help develop apoptosis modulators for medicine.

The “forced digitalization” of higher education came with many challenges, the key one being to ensure continuity of the teaching and learning process under the unexpected conditions imposed by social interaction restrictions. Innovative pedagogies were mobilized to facilitate instruction in the “new reality”. Despite the fact that universities managed rapidly to adapt practices by using existing digital tools and technological investments, the negative effects of students and scholars being isolated from the idly community, determined now the focus on the necessity to take care of the social, emotional and affective side, as it impacts on the academic performance. Data from a recent study carried on in 24 universities in Romania came to confirm it (ANOSR, 2020). Several studies during the pandemic situation have shown students experience decreased motivation and lack of social context, even a tendency for drop out within vulnerable groups, when higher education suddenly went online in spring 2020. We have reasons to believe that this tendency will increase on the duration of Covid-19 pandemic and after, due to lower engagement of students with the academic environment at various levels, determined both by individual and social factors, and expand the group of vulnerable people to other categories (ZAHEER et al., 2016, Davidson & Wilson, 2017; Bustamente, 2019; Respondek et al., 2020). For these reasons, we will address social and emotional needs of students and ways of approaching these needs by academics and educational specialists working in support services (Durlak et al., 2011), so that they can attend not just the cognitive development of students, but also their emotional and social needs (Bradley et al., 2010; Davidson et al., 2011; Gerson & Fernandez, 2013) in online learning communities (Peacock & Cowan, 2019).This projects aims at addressing two special sides of this pedagogical innovation not yet consistently addressed: (1) equity for vulnerable groups and (2) ensuring social-emotional conditions of learning in HE, as successful learning is not just about the quality of knowledge and skills to be trained, but is very much related to quality of social interactions among key stakeholders in the process, as well as to the emotional engagement with learning experiences. We can observe high level of concern and effort on using technology and digital tools to enhance teaching and learning and we consider equally important to address educational support services under the new digital conditions.The project aims at:- IDENTIFYING the best practices that could enhance teaching and learning when using digital tools and create conditions for social and emotional engagement of students in online learning.- PROVIDING a framework for transforming and adapting learning support services, with a special focus on vulnerable groups.- CREATING the tools to develop student’s sense of belonging in the context of virtual learning communities.Our target groups are:- Academics teaching online courses, with a focus on those with reduced digital literacy and limited capacity to transfer all teaching in online environment in an effective way. Participants to the project are members of the partner universities (AMU, NKUA, UB, AUM, UniRoma1, SU and EKTU).- Students learning online, who need to develop a sense of belonging, with a focus on those from vulnerable groups. Participants to the project are studying at the partner universities.When taking a perspective view of the needs this project comes to respond to, there are several areas of investigation and exploration, which were undertaken by the partners in this project, according to their expertise in the field. Each of these topics were translated into actions (working packs) that would lead to accomplishment of the general objectives of the project. Collaborative groups of academics will co-create knowledge, support mechanisms and services to be offered across all universities, such as analytical selection of the vulnerabilities in the education system, with a specific attention for the emotional and social impact of the pandemic and the identification of new categories of vulnerable people, a mapping of existing digital media used by partner universities for teaching and learning and evaluate their effect on sense of belonging, design thinking as a method to add knowledge about possibilities to enhance the sense of belonging among different categories of students in order to assist course design, support services and creation of digital tools.All intellectual outputs and other tangible materials will be open access resources to be used, adapted and improved by partner universities and other organizations that seek to offer high quality online teaching practice and ensure social-emotional conditions of learning for their students at the same time.

The ENIGMA network will train a new generation of young researchers in the development of innovative sensors, field survey techniques and inverse modelling approaches. This will enhance our ability to understand and monitor dynamic subsurface processes that are key to the protection and sustainable use of water resources. ENIGMA focuses mainly on critical zone observation, but the anticipated technological developments and scientific findings will also contribute to monitor and model the environmental footprint of an increasing range of subsurface activities, including large-scale water abstraction and storage, enhanced geothermal systems and subsurface waste and carbon storage. While many subsurface structure imaging methods are now mature and broadly used in research and practice, our ability to resolve and monitor subsurface fluxes and processes, including solute transport, heat transfer and biochemical reactions, is much more limited. The shift from classical structure characterization to dynamic process imaging, driven by ENIGMA, will require the development of multi-scale hydrogeophysical methods with adequate sensitivity, spatial and temporal resolution, and novel inverse modelling concepts. For this, ENIGMA will gather (i) world-leading academic teams and emerging companies that develop innovative sensors and hydrogeophysical inversion methods, (ii) experts in subsurface process upscaling and modelling, and (iii) highly instrumented field infrastructures for in-situ experimentation and validation. ENIGMA will thus create a creative and entrepreneurial environment for trainees to develop integrated approaches to water management with interdisciplinary field-sensing methods and novel modelling techniques. ENIGMA will foster EU and international cooperation in the water area by creating new links between hydrogeological observatories, academic research groups, innovative industries and water managers for high-level scientific and professional training.