32 | 2025 GIGA Annual Report H2020 projects 2024 Horizon Europe (2) Cluster 1 - Health MERLON Merging scientific Evidence with Regulatory practices and Leveraging identification Of endocrine disruptors using New approach methodologies p Anne-Simone Parent, Julie Bakker, Charlotte Cornil 798 125 € The MERLON project, coordinated by the Technical University of Denmark, unites 15 partners including GIGA in an international consortium addressing endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), a rising health concern linked to hormone-related disorders. MERLON aims to improve identification of EDCs by integrating multispecies molecular research, new approach methodologies (NAMs), human epidemiology, and systems biology. The focus lies on sexual development stages from fetal differentiation to maturity. By closing knowledge gaps on EDC effects on human health, MERLON supports better regulatory frameworks in the EU and beyond. The consortium involves universities, research institutes, and hospitals across seven European countries. GIGA-Neurosciences contributes to studies on EDC impacts on brain development using in vivo and in vitro models. Funded by the EC’s Horizon 2020 program, MERLON advances safer chemical regulation through innovative science. Horizon Europe - Widening Participation and spreading excellence SYNHEALTH Synergy for Healthy Longevity p Souad Rhamouni 98 750 € Researchers at Genos pioneered highthroughput glycomics 15 years ago, integrating it into major epidemiological and clinical studies. Through participation in EU projects like 3TR and SYSCID, Genos analyzed over 200,000 glycomes and identified promising glycan biomarkers. The SynHealth project aims to valorize these discoveries and prepare them for ERDF funding and exploitation in two Croatian and one Slovenian region, in collaboration with the University of Maribor. Support comes from Horizon partners Karolinska Institute and University of Liège, alongside innovation and technology transfer partners F6S and GlycanAge, the latter commercializing glycan biomarkers in health and wellness. SynHealth will demonstrate adoption of glycan biomarkers for personalized preventive healthcare in real-world settings, paving the way for future clinical diagnostic applications.
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