2nd 2024 GeneHumdi Call for Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs)

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This is the 2nd Call for applications for Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) funded by the COST Action CA21113 “Genome Editing to Treat Humans Diseases” (GenE-Humdi) CA21113.

Why do we encourage Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSM) within the framework of the GeneHumdi COST Action?

The board of GeneHumdi is pleased to announce the availability of Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) through the COST Action program and encourages researchers to apply. These missions offer researchers the opportunity to conduct short visits to research institutions or laboratories in other COST countries, with the aim of strengthening existing networks and fostering collaboration. STSMs also provide researchers with the chance to learn new techniques or use equipment, data, and/or methods that may not be available in their own institution, while contributing to the scientific objectives of the Action. We strongly urge interested researchers to take advantage of this unique opportunity to expand their scientific knowledge and contribute to the advancement of their respective fields.

Participants in the COST Action program’s Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) have a great opportunity to focus their work on research topics that have been highlighted by GenE-Humdi’s 8 Working Groups (WGs) or to introduce new ideas that address the objectives of the project. We encourage researchers to take advantage of this opportunity to enhance their scientific knowledge and contribute to the advancement of their respective fields. (Details on the content and goals of WGs is available in the Action’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Guidelines for applicants:
  • Individuals are supported financially with travel grants for four Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) offered by GenE-Humdi. Grantees are responsible for making their own arrangements for travel, accommodation, and other logistics.
  • STSMs must be completed within the 2nd Grant Period of the Action, which ends in October 2024. While there is no maximum duration for visits, the minimum visit should be at least 5 days, including travel time.
  • The deadline for submitting applications is August 24th, 2024. Notification of decisions will be made by September 9th, 2024.
  • During this period, STSM grants are awarded up to a maximum of 4,000€. Applicants are encouraged to review the Annotated Rules for COST Actions.
  • The STSM travel grants are open to researchers and innovators who are associated with a legal entity in a COST Full/Cooperative Member, Near Neighbour Country, or European RTD. While all eligible candidates are encouraged to apply, young researchers and innovators under the age of 40 are particularly encouraged to participate.
Application instructions:
  1. To apply for an STSM, applicants must utilize the e-COST management tool. It is mandatory for all applicants to possess an e-COST profile.
  2. To apply for an STSM, the applicant must utilize the e-COST management tool to submit their request. Along with the necessary information provided on the website, applicants are required to upload specific documents in a single PDF file:
  • A brief CV that highlights recent publications.
  • The STSM proposal outlining the research objectives and methodology.
  • The requested budget in euros.
  • A confirmation letter from the host institution.
  • Applicants who require further information on the submission process via the e-COST system can refer to the Grant Awarding User Guide.
  • After completing the STSM, the recipient must submit a brief report outlining the results of their visit. The report must be submitted no later than 30 days following the end date of the STSM, or 15 days after the end of the Grant Period, whichever comes first. It is important to note that if the report is not submitted on time, the grant will be revoked. Once the report has been approved, the grant payment is expected to be processed within 30 days.
Evaluation of applications:

The GeneHumdi Grant Awarding committee will assess each proposal individually and provide an evaluation score based on several factors. These factors include:

  1. The clarity of the proposal.
  2. The degree to which the proposed STSM complements or contributes to the strategic priorities and objectives of the Action as defined in the MoU.
  3. The feasibility of the planned work plan and outputs, and the ability of the STSM applicant to successfully complete the proposed STSM and disseminate relevant outputs.

It is important that the proposal clearly demonstrates how the proposed STSM will benefit both the applicant and the Action.

The proposal will be categorized based on its evaluation score, within 5 categories:

  1. Poor: (0-25): The proposal will be considered poor if it is unsound, incomprehensive, and lacks clear links to any of the WGs
  2. Fair: (26-50): A proposal with limited understanding, unclear objectives, and weak linkage to at least one Working Group
  3. Good: (51-75): A proposal is one that is well-linked to at least one WG and needs input to develop feasible STSM
  4. Excellent: (76-100): well-thought-out plan with clear feasibility and expected outcomes. It is highly relevant to at least one of the WGs

The top four proposals with the highest scores will be awarded the STSM grants.

Topics

Funded STSM must align with at least one (or more) of the following topics:

  • Topic 1: Mapping the existing endonuclease-Independ platforms (EIP) and their potential output in different applications, efficacy, specificity of the available endonucleases independent GE tools.
  • Topic 2: Mapping the existing endonuclease platforms (EIP) and their potential output in different applications, efficacy, specificity of the available endonucleases independent GE tools.
  • Topic 3: Delivery methods used for GE of the different cell types that are used for clinical applications. non-viral systems, based on ribonucleoparticles (RNP) or plasmids, are the ex vivo systems of choice to deliver the GE complex into the target cells.
  • Topic 4: Delivery methods used for in vivo GE in different animal models and in clinical settings. Including comparison of efficacy and specificity data for different GE tools delivered by different methods in each tissue/organ of interest.
  • Topic 5: The establishment of a standardized pipeline for the unbiased identification and quantification of CRISPR off-target sites for therapeutic applications.
  • Topic 6: Assessment of recombination events in gene editing approaches
  • Topic 7: Comparison of the different constrains in the HDR-mediated gene editing in the most primitive HSPCs, and how the HDR may be enhanced.
  • Topic 8: The evaluation of different GE strategies to target Hematopoietic stem cells in Fanconi anaemia cells in vitro, the sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia, collagen VI deficiency and Emery Derfuss muscular dystrophy.
  • Topic 9: Market research study and competitive analysis on gene editing based medicines including the following tasks: (i) Market opportunity. Target niche; (ii) Definition of targeted market, sales by category (product, territory, class and market share (sales peak, defining at least three different scenarios), positioning, market drivers and barriers.
  • Topic 10: The analyse of regulatory requirements for the commercialization of gene editing based medicines.
Question and inquiries:

Please contact GeneHumdi:

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