The CliniMARK COST action (CA16113) was established in 2017, to increase awareness of good biomarker practice. The action will endeavor to not only establish best practice guidelines for research in this field, but also disseminate said guidelines to the broader research community. As biomarker research gains more ground, the necessity of good practice for discovery, validation and implementation of biomarkers becomes evident.
As part of these efforts two meetings recently took place in Greece: 1) the CliniMARK Athens meeting 21-22/09/19; 2) the CliniMARK training school in Spetses on approaches for biomarker discovery and validation 23-27/09/19.
The CliniMARK Athens meeting presented unique opportunities for international collaborations on the dissemination of biomarker practice. During the meeting, participants agreed on a specific plan for writing several publications. Amongst them was a review on analytical techniques for protein biomarker validation focusing on multiplex detection of soluble biomarkers with clinical applications, which should be submitted by the end of 2019.
Directly following the Athens meeting the CliniMARK school on approaches for biomarker discovery and validation took place in Spetses. A unique feature of the training school was the focus on problems associated with omics biomarker studies and training a new generation of scientists to be able to fix the flawed biomarker discovery and implementation paradigm.

October 4-7, 2020, Rabac, Croatia
Conference Venue: Valamar Collection Girandella Resort, Rabac / Croatia

Important Dates:
Abstract Submission: June 01, 2020
Early Registration: July 20, 2020
Late Registration: September 20, 2020
Young Scientist Fellowship: June 01, 2020

Conference contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Organized by:
Hrvatsko toksikološko društvo / Croatian Society of Toxicology
Ksaverska cesta 2, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Project code: KP-06-KOCT/6, 18 June 2019
Project type: National co-funding for participation in the framework of CliniMark EU-COST Action
Project funding: National Science Fund, Republic of Bulgaria
Project duration: 18th June 2019 – 17th June 2021

Participants: Tsvetelina Oreshkova, PhD (COST member); Milena Mourdjeva, PhD (COST member); Kameliya Vinketova PhD; Ivan Bochev, PhD; Vesselina Koleva (physician); Iliya Karagyozov, PhD (physician); Elena Puncheva (physician); Gabriela Georgieva (student)

Trafficking of molecular factors is the principal mode of communication among cells. However, the physiologic thresholds of metabolic indicators could shape into disparate signaling profiles in health and pathology. Discovering measurable indicators (biomarkers) of developmental stage and endpoint states in disease can serve for diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic management of patients. Similarly to the established biomarkers in oncology (examples: PSA in prostate, CEA in colon, CA125 in ovary cancers and etc.), identifying biomarkers indicating severity of subfertility and pathologies of human pregnancy in reproductive medicine is necessary.
Normal, rejected pregnancy groups and subfertility patients with endometriosis will be screened for secreted immune factors in blood circulation. Adhesion and regulatory markers will be of interest in the investigation of the eventual immunobased component of these fertility dysfunctions.

Project code: 337-00-205/2019-09/19
Project type: Project of bilateral scientific and technological cooperation between Republic of Croatia and Republic of Serbia
Project funding: Serbian Ministry of Education, Science, and Technological Development; Croatian Ministry of Science and Education
Project duration: 1st May, 2019 – 30th April, 2021

Participants: Serbian team: Mirjana Čolović, PhD (COST member); Danijela Krstić, PhD (COST member); Marko Dinčić, PhD student; Branislava Savić, PhD student;
Croatian team: Goran Gajski, PhD (COST member); Marko Gerić, PhD; Mirta Milić, PhD; Ana-Marija Domijan, PhD;

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is a serine hydrolase that terminates impulse transmission at cholinergic synapses by the rapid hydrolysis of neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Reversible inhibitors of this enzyme have been applied in the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer’s disease associated with the loss of cholinergic neurons in the brain and the decreased level of acetylcholine.
Although the AChE inhibitor therapy results in improving cognitive abilities, the long-term application may induce undesirable side effects such as gastrointestinal problems and hepatotoxicity. For this reason, new compounds have been synthesized in order to find both efficient and less toxic pharmaceuticals for neurological disorders. Considering toxicity is a main limitation in the clinical application of physiologically active agents, the objective of this project is to evaluate in vitro prooxidative and genotoxic effects of synthesized metal-based compounds, promising anti-Alzheimer therapeutics exhibiting strong anti-AChE action.

The Netherlands X-omics Initiative is a new facility as part of the National Roadmap for Large-Scale Research Infrastructures. It is partly funded by NWO with a total budget of 40 million euro. The project started on September 2018 and will last for ten years.

The project aims to establish a X-omics research infrastructure across the Netherlands consisting of several existing facilities with various expertise’s related to molecular biology research (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and data integration & analysis).

A consortium to assist biomarkers reach their full potential.

Biomarkers are potential prognostic, diagnostic, and treatment indicators. Despite their increasing potential for precision medicine, their development into commercial products is very challenging. The purpose of a new Baltic Sea Region (BSR) consortium is to create tools for supporting and overcoming the challenges of biomarker commercialization.

The objectives of BIC consortium are to create:
- a biomarker development tool for researchers
- a screening and selection guide for TTOs
- a framework for technology translation into clinical setting
- new business model templates
- a biomarker platform with access to the tools and technology presentations for match making.

Topic identifier: SC1-BHC-02-2019
Publication date: 27 October 2017
Types of action: RIA Research and Innovation action
DeadlineModel: two-stage
Planned: 26 July 2018
Deadline: 02 October 2018
2nd stage Deadline: 16 April 2019

Many complex disorders pose a challenge to identify the most effective therapeutic interventions because current therapies often target specific aspects of a disease, without achieving complete control or the best possible results for patients. Due to the multiple causes of such diseases and the heterogeneity between patients, approaches directed at single targets have had limited efficacy, overlooking important factors involved in disease pathophysiology.

Topic identifier: SC1-BHC-01-2019
Publication date: 27 October 2017
Types of action: RIA Research and Innovation action
DeadlineModel: two-stage
Planned: 26 July 2018
Deadline: 02 October 2018
2nd stage Deadline: 16 April 2019

The increasing number of individuals with co-and multimorbidities poses an urgent need to improve management of patients with multiple co-existing diseases. A better understanding of their causative mechanisms is needed to develop early diagnosis, efficient prevention and monitoring, and better treatments adapted to co- and multimorbid patients throughout their life course.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major public health problem with a prevalence in Switzerland reaching 15.9% in men. Exposure to particulate matter (PM) is a known COPD risk factor via oxidative stress pathway. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their metabolites could be predictive to COPD onset and be used as diagnostic biomarkers.
ROBoCop project, in the framework of CliniMark EU-COST Action, aims to select and validate a panel of oxidative stress biomarkers analyzed in non-invasive biological samples.

M Rinaldo, J Pralong, N Hopf, JJ Sauvain, G Suarez, P Wild, I Guseva Canu, Institute for Work and Health, University of Lausanne, University of Geneva, Switzerland

During the Waters MS Technology Days 2017 in Basel (6/27) and Lausanne (6/27) research results were presented from a BDC study carried out in the group of Dr. Theo Luider at the Erasmus MC (Rotterdam) about development and application of an LC-MS assay to evaluate Pregnancy Zone Protein as potential biomarker for the prediction of Alzheimer's disease.