Committed until the End: Final Meeting of FP7 Project CoMMiTMenT

The CoMMiTMenT consortium met for the project’s final meeting at the Institute of Veterinary Physiology of the University of Zurich on September 18-19. CoMMiTMenT coordinator Lars Kaestner (Saarland University) welcomed representatives from all project partners as well as Dr Paola Bianchi (Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda - Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico), who joined the consortium as external advisor.

The latest progress regarding the project objectives were discussed during both meeting days. Some significant steps were taken in the last months of CoMMiTMenT, especially regarding MeCheM, the device developed in lieu of the µCOSMOS device, and the Scanning Ion Conductance Microscope. The development of both machines has been slightly delayed due to unforeseen difficulties but both are now taken into operation and delivering the expected results. Despite the challenges on the way, the consortium is confident to bring this FP7 project to a successful end.

On the first meeting day, external advisor Dr Paola Bianchi gave a very well-received presentation entitled “Congenital hemolytic anaemias: what a mutation can teach us”. The consortium was able to draw some parallels to their findings which led to in-depth discussion on the research of anaemias.

CoMMiTMenT is a five-year collaborative research project funded by the European Commission under the 7th EU Framework Programme. The project aims to develop combined imaging technologies to deliver novel diagnostic modalities for rare diseases.

As management and dissemination partner in CoMMiTMenT, Eurice has supported the consortium in the successful implementation of its ambitious goals. The project is thus one of the last FP7 projects in the Eurice project portfolio which is currently centred around Horizon 2020 projects and will soon be augmented by the next R&I framework programme Horizon Europe.