Month: April 2025

On April 7–8, 2025, the PLASTCELL consortium held its third in-person meeting in Barcelona to review progress and discuss next steps as the project moves into its final phase.

Participants from the UK, France, Austria, and Spain traveled to Barcelona by plane, train, bus — and even on foot across borders — to take part in rich discussions on the scientific and strategic evolution of the project. The meeting featured presentations from multiple work packages, highlighting key developments in cell culture and confinement technologies, image analysis pipelines, advanced microscopy approaches, and the PLASTCELL scoring system.

Ethical considerations were also discussed thanks to the valuable insights from the members of our Ethical Advisory Board: Dr. Maria Berdasco, Dr. Magali Jacquier, and Dr. Melanie Goisauf.

The consortium reaffirmed its strong commitment to collaboration and scientific innovation, with a focus on continuing to advance cutting-edge technologies and stepping up dissemination and exploitation efforts for PLAST_CELL diverse biomedical and research applications in the field of cell plasticity and cancer.

On 2–3 April 2025, the PLAST_CELL project participated in the EIC Summit 2025, held in Brussels. As the flagship event of the European Innovation Council, the summit brought together innovators, researchers, policymakers, and entrepreneurs from across Europe.

The two-day event offered a rich programme of workshops, pitching sessions, and panel discussions addressing key topics shaping the future of European innovation. For PLAST_CELL, some of the most relevant sessions included:

Importance of IP for Building a Deep Tech Business, where the EPO and EUIPO highlighted the value of establishing an early IP strategy and diversifying intellectual property rights (IPR).

Navigating Regulatory Pathways for Emerging Health Technologies, which provided a comprehensive overview of current regulatory frameworks and the EMA’s support for innovation.

BAS Services, which shared a broader reflection on how to leverage the full spectrum of EIC services and view the EIC not just as a funder, but as a strategic partner.

The event also offered excellent networking opportunities with investors, biotech companies, National Contact Points, and Project Officers. PLAST_CELL was represented by Sara Abad, Project Manager from the CRG.

In addition, on 1 April, the project was also represented at the EIC Community Training on AI tools for innovators—an interactive session exploring practical AI applications to support research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

We are grateful for the opportunity to take part in these events and look forward to applying the knowledge and connections gained to further strengthen the PLAST_CELL initiative.