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14/12/2022

The European ISIDORe project grants access to IRTA-CReSA facilities to perform research on highly pathogenic agents

The ISIDORe project brings together all key European life sciences research infrastructures and networks offering free access to a one health-driven integrated portfolio of research services and resources 

IRTA-CReSA facilities and infrastructure are suitable for the Preparedness Program Calls for Proposals, launched November 2022 

The COVID-19 pandemic has confirmed that there is a crucial need for a higher capacity of preparedness and responsiveness to epidemic-prone pathogens in Europe and globally. The recent decades have already demonstrated that the (re-)emergence and globalization of infectious diseases are no longer abstract long-term predictions from the scientific community; they are a tangible reality. For the future, the question is not “if” an outbreak/epidemic will happen, but rather “when” it will, and “which” epidemic-prone pathogen will be involved. Europe and the world need to be better prepared for future infectious disease health threats. The project ISIDORe (Integrated Services for Infectious Disease Outbreak Research) supports scientists and their research on epidemic- and pandemic-prone pathogens and the development of medical countermeasures and offers free access to a one health-driven integrated portfolio of research services and resources. 

ISIDORe is an interdisciplinary project coordinated by the European Research Infrastructure on Highly Pathogenic Agents (ERINHA), funded by the European Commission Horizon Europe program through the HERA incubator call. This network brings together all key European life sciences research infrastructures and networks, as well as those in the social sciences. The Animal Health Research Center (CReSA) from the Institutte of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA), through the umbrellas of TRANSVAC, INFRAVEC and VETBIONET is a partner of ISIDORe’s network. IRTA-CReSA’s research facilities, services, equipment, technologies, and expertise are available for free of charge access throughout the duration of the project.  

The Preparedness Program Calls for Proposals was launched during november 2022, including a list of priority preparedness pathogens clustered in four calls for proposals. These four calls are aligned with strategies of key leading European and international bodies which are part of the initiative’s strategic advisory board: CEPI, the European Commission, the ECDC, EFPIA, EMA, FAO, GloPID-R, HERA, WHO and WOAH. 

To prevent future pandemics, and advance the development of the appropriate medical countermeasures, the ISIDORe preparedness program four calls for proposals will support research on the pathogens with epidemic potential such as Risk-Group 4 pathogens (Ebola virus, Marburg virus, Nipah virus, Hendra virus, Lassa virus, “New world arenaviruses”, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus), respiratory pathogens (zoonotic betacoronaviruses, Influenza A, Y. Pestis, M. Tuberculosis/bovis, C. burnetii ), vector-borne pathogens (Rift valley fever virus, Zika virus, Chikungunya virus, West Nile virus, Dengue virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, Yellow fever virus, Tick-borne encephalitis virus, Plasmodium, B. burgdorferi, Leishmania), and other pathogens with epidemic potential (pathogen X, Orthopoxviruses, Non polio enteroviruses, Polio enteroviruses). In three of the four calls: (I) Respiratory pathogens, (II) Vector-borne pathogens, and (III) other pathogens with epidemic potential, IRTA-CReSA facilities are suitable for the pathogen’s studies and research. 

Researchers are invited to submit any proposal that requires access to at least one of the ISIDORe services and falls under one of the sections highlighted on the calls’ webpage. Except for the “Risk-Group 4 pathogens” call for proposals, which has a pre-application deadline of 7 February 2022 for access to BSL4 facilities, applications will be evaluated, selected, and implemented on a rolling basis as long as funding remains available. The calls are multidisciplinary and open to all scientists both from academia and private sector.

Read more on application modalities on the ISIDORe website.