research 54 research 55 PROJECTS New research FEDER / ERDF Ensemble The ENSEMBLE project, developed in collaboration by ULiège and the CHU de Liège, aims to initiate the deployment of P3 medicine in the Walloon Region, to improve polygenic risk scores and to adapt them to the specific profile of the diverse Walloon population. To this end, by mid-2025, 10,000 patients followed at the CHU de Liège will be included on a voluntary basis in the ENSEMBLE study. Based on large-scale analysis and comparison of the genes of individuals in a given population, the aim is to assess, using a score, the risk of certain common and complex diseases (breast cancer, colon cancer, etc.) and, consequently, to step up screening and prevention of these diseases. A new paradigm in prevention and medical monitoring is taking shape over the next few years, and the Walloon ENSEMBLE project is part of it, as are other equivalent projects in Europe and around the world. In Belgium, and more particularly in Wallonia, we currently have very little data in this area. The ENSEMBLE project’s mission is to calibrate, i.e. adapt, the polygenic risk scores in the Walloon Region. Once these scores have been calibrated for our population, new tools will be created which, with or without certain environmental factors, will make it possible to assess the risk of developing common and complex diseases in each patient. WalBioImaging Imaging, a crucial exploration tool in various healthcare sectors ranging from fundamental research to drug development, is indispensable in translational research and pharmaceutical R&D. It covers the exploratory research phase and preclinical studies conducted through screening methods in in vitro cell tests and in vivo studies in animals. The four WalBioImaging projects in the WAL-IMAGIN portfolio aim to establish a coordinated network of Imaging technological platforms involving three Universities (ULiège, ULB, and UMons) and one Accredited Research Centre (CER) to support and drive the development of new therapeutic solutions in Wallonia. The Imaging platforms of GIGA will be one of the nodes of the integrated Walloon platform ULiège-ULB-UMons-CER created within this WAL-IMAGIN portfolio. Specifically, the WalBioImaging ULiège project aims to enhance the GIGA Imaging platforms through the acquisition of new exceptional equipment. This will keep the GIGA Imaging platforms at the forefront of technological progress and increase the range of services available to researchers both in companies, especially SMEs, or research institutions. WalSeq The WalSeq project aims to enhance the GIGA-Genomics platform through the acquisition of new exceptional equipment. This will keep the GIGA-Genomics platform at the forefront of technological innovation and increase the range of services offered to researchers, both in companies, especially SMEs, and in research institutions. The GIGA-Genomics platform must remain at the forefront of progress, particularly to enable its users to save time in their experimentation and analysis phases, access the best technological developments to carry out their projects successfully, and thus maintain competitiveness on a national and international scale. The new equipment desired within the framework of WalSeq will generate the data necessary for the research projects of this MedReSyst portfolio (notably ENSEMBLE). WalSeq also supports research projects associated with the WAL-IMAGIN portfolio. Win4Excellence GT4Health The Walloon Region has just selected the GT4Health project led by the University of Liège as one of the projects to be funded under its Win4Excellence programme, which aims to finance particularly ambitious research in promising areas. Together with their colleagues from other universities, researchers from the GIGA, CIRM and CERM want to develop disruptive strategic research in gene therapy to strengthen Wallonia’s position on the international stage and secure the future of its value chain. Of the overall budget of just over €10m, €4.5m will be allocated to ULiège laboratories. The ULiège researchers include Géraldine Piel (LTPB), Antoine Debuigne (CERM), Emmanuel Di Valentin and Catherine Sadzot (GIGA).
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTk1ODY=