Project Active
https://www.cost.eu/who-we-are/about-cost
The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) is a funding organisation for the creation of research networks, called COST Actions. These networks offer an open space for collaboration among scientists across Europe (and beyond) and thereby give impetus to research advancements and innovation.
COST is bottom up, this means that researchers can create a network – based on their own research interests and ideas – by submitting a proposal to the COST Open Call. The proposal can be in any science field. COST Actions are highly interdisciplinary and open. It is possible to join ongoing Actions, which therefore keep expanding over the funding period of four years. They are multi-stakeholder, often involving the private sector, policymakers as well as civil society.
Researchers involved At COST projects from MIGAL:
Prof. Uri Marchaim
CA16106 LivAGE - Ammonia and Greenhouse Gases Emissions from Animal Production Buildings
LivAge is an international cooperation to reduce atmospheric emissions from livestock buildings has started under the framework of EU COST Actions. This COST network deals with the reduction of greenhouse gases, especially ammonia, in animal houses.
At the last conference held in late September 2018, in Skopje, Macedonia, representatives of the participating countries decided to hold the next conference in Israel. There are about 30 countries participating in this COST network, which is one of the largest. About 50 researchers and industry professionals attend this CA16106 network.
Prof. Jamal Mahajna
CA16112 NutRedOx - Personalized Nutrition in aging society: redox control of major age-related disease
The importance of a healthy ageing process becomes apparent when considering that (a) the Generation 50+ (G50+) already has a share in population of around one third across Europe, with obvious regional variations, (b) this share is likely to increase further in the future, and (c) vitality at older age is not only an important measure of quality of life but also key to participation and productivity. The theme “nutrition and ageing” has many different aspects and poses numerous challenges, which provide a fertile ground for many research themes and networks. Among them, the “NutRedOx” network will focus on the impact of redox active compounds in food on healthy ageing, chemoprevention and redox control in the context of major age-related diseases.
The main aim of the NutRedOx network is the gathering of experts from across Europe, including other Mediterranean countries, and from different disciplines that are involved in the study of biological redox active food components and are relevant to the ageing organism, its health, function and vulnerability to disease. Together, these experts will form a major and sustainable EU-wide cluster in form of the “NutRedOx Centre of Excellence” able to address the topic from different perspectives, with the long-term aim to provide a scientific basis for (improved) nutritional and lifestyle habits, to train the next generation of multidisciplinary researches in this field, to raise awareness of such habits among the wider population, and also to engage with Industry to develop age-adequate foods and medicines.
Prof. Jacob Pitcovski
CA16231 - European Network of Vaccine Adjuvants
This Action aims to bring together experts and stakeholders from the three main areas of vaccine research: human infectious disease, cancer, and animal disease in order to address one of the most critical steps in vaccine development: the use of adjuvants in vaccine formulations. The ultimate goal is to establish a platform to discuss, share and synergize available knowledge on adjuvants and vaccine formulation, and to coordinate their translation into successful, safe and innovative vaccines. Significant effort will be placed on bridging these three separated vaccine fields. This network will significantly strengthen ongoing EU-funded activities and provide a platform for accelerating the development of affordable and effective vaccines in Europe. In addition, as well as sharing their experiences with each other, the Action participants will also engage the general public, providing impartial, balanced and scientific information on adjuvants and vaccines. This Action will contribute to the strengthening of Europe’s position as a global leader in vaccinology, and will increase knowledge across the currently separated fields of vaccine development, as well as providing a repository of information for the European public about vaccines and vaccination.
Prof Jacob Pitcovski is the Israeli representative in the management committee of the action and member of the STSM committee.
Dr. Ari Meerson
CA17129 - Catalysing transcriptomics research in cardiovascular disease
CardioRNA COST Action CA17129 is a collaborative pan-European network of multidisciplinary researchers, clinicians, and industrial partners aiming to accelerate the understanding of transcriptomics in cardiovascular disease (CVD) and further the translation of experimental data into usable applications to improve personalized medicine in this field.
COST Action CA20110 - RNA communication across kingdoms: new mechanisms and strategies in pathogen control (exRNA-PATH)
https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA20110
A new frontier in RNA biology has emerged in the last decade with findings that RNA is found outside of cells and can transmit information between cells, organisms and species as a form of communication. Pathogens can also exploit extracellular RNA (exRNAs) to enable their infections and exRNAs are associated with numerous infectious diseases in both animals and plants. However, there are large gaps in knowledge on exRNA mechanisms, such as how exRNAs are selected for export, how they traffic outside the cell, how they integrate into a functional pathway in a recipient and how pathogens exploit these mechanisms. While there are coordinated efforts to advance exRNAs as biomarkers in the USA, the focus is primarily on exRNA detection in body fluids. Advancing the budding field of exRNA and harnessing its potential in understanding and treating disease urgently requires mechanistic understanding.
CA16113 CliniMARK- Clinical Biomarkers
To increase the number of clinically validated biomarkers, rather than further increasing the number of biomarker discovery studies, CliniMARK will improve the quality and reproducibility of studies and establish a coherent biomarker development pipeline from discovery to market introduction.
CA17103 DARTER - Delivery of Antisense RNA Therapeutics
https://antisenserna.eu/index.php
The DARTER COST Action uses networking and capacity building in the field of nucleic acid therapy delivery to allow RNA-targeting nucleic acid drugs to reach their full potential and become a mainstream therapeutic option.
Dr. Dorit Avni- Israel representor in management committee (MC)
COST CA20117 - Converting molecular profiles of myeloid cells into biomarkers for inflammation and cancer (2021-2025)
https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA20117/
Myeloid immune cells are important mediators in the pathology of many diseases, especially in diseases associated with chronic inflammation (DACI). Recent advancements in molecular profiling technologies have led to the generation of large data sets, many of those not fully explored yet, but accessible to the entire scientific community via public data repositories. It is the aim of this COST Action to repurpose those data sets, retrieve and curate myeloid cell-specific information, and apply this information to develop novel biomarkers for DACI. To this end, Mye-InfoBank will utilise COST networking tools to enable the interaction of molecular biologists, bioinformaticians, immunobiologists, biobank coordinators and clinicians. The concerted activity of these experts on myeloid cell biology (either basic or clinical research) MYE, bioinformatics INFO, and bio-banking BANK, will transform complex molecular information into standardised and applicable biomarkers, which have the potential to improve clinical decision making in a number of socio-economically important diseases.