Final PERISCOPE Meeting Concludes Successful European Research Project
The PERISCOPE (PERtussIS COrrelates of Protection Europe) Consortium met in Ghent, Belgium, from May 16 to 18, 2022, for its final meeting before the project ends in August 2022. Dimitri Diavatopoulos of Radboud University Medical Center, the project coordinator, was happy to welcome 58 participants from the 21 partner institutions and international stakeholders from more than ten different countries in person. An additional 18 participants joined the meeting virtually. After a long stretch of not being able to meet in person, the meeting in Ghent was a welcomed and well-received platform to have in-person conversations and meet partners once again to discuss the ongoing research. We were incredibly honoured to welcome our scientific and external advisory representatives, Tod Merkel (U.S. Food and Drug Administration – FDA), Karen Markar (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) and Alessandro Sette (La Jolla Institute for Immunology).
During the three meeting days, the Consortium presented and elaborated on the results gained from several studies performed by our clinical partners throughout the project. The days and sessions focused on three overall topics: vaccination, infection and cross-study analysis. The conference also included workshops on T-cells, biobank and data management, as well as a panel discussion with a focus on the future of pertussis research led by Andrew Gorringe (Public Health England) and scientific advisor Tod Merkel (FDA).
Within PERISCOPE, Eurice has taken the lead in project management, including administrative, legal and financial matters, to support the coordinator in ensuring smooth project implementation. Together with all partners and under the guidance of Radboud University Medical Center, Eurice has provided coherent external communication of the project and its results towards relevant target groups as well as dissemination activities to maximise project impact. Eurice has advised all partners in networking activities and in questions concerning stakeholder and media relations throughout the project. One important way to support these efforts is to enable partners to have regular exchanges. The consortium meeting in Ghent was an excellent opportunity to prepare for the end of the project and beyond!
About PERISCOPE
PERISCOPE is coordinated by Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. The project started in 2016 and was extended for a period of 18 months in 2021 due to the challenges and restrictions presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information on the project, please visit the official project website: https://periscope-project.eu/