i3S integrates European project PREMUROSA

The European project PREMUROSA, in which i3S takes part, was recently funded by the European Union with €3.4 million. It is a European Innovative Training Network (ITN) in the Marie Sklodowska-Curie program to promote research, innovation, and education in the field of personalized medicine for musculoskeletal disorders and active aging. The objective of the project, which has members from 16 institutions from seven countries (including research institutes, universities, foundations and companies) is to train a new generation of tissue engineering scientists to develop new technologies and new therapies for musculoskeletal disorders.

Meriem Lamghari explains that the research group she is coordinating will receive €475,000 to train two researchers in this area for 48 months. "Through the synergy between innovative technologies and predictive models, it will be possible to optimize therapies for patients with musculoskeletal disorders based on each individual's needs", she stated.

"The invitation to join ITN Premurosa is a recognition of the work we have done at the i3S as it brings together some of the best musculoskeletal researchers in Europe as well as technology transfer companies", said Meriem Lamghari.

Unlike some areas such as oncology, where therapy is constantly monitored and modified according to the patient's response, in Orthopedics there is still a tendency to apply the same treatments to all patients with the same disease, compromising the effectiveness of treatments. The lack of predictive technologies and models requires new and highly skilled professionals who can combine all of these areas and develop new strategies for translating tissue engineering innovations into useful information to customize therapies, taking into account the characteristics of each patient.

PREMUROSA (Precision Medicine for Musculoskeletal Regeneration, Prosthetics and Active Aging) is coordinated by the Italian University of Eastern Piedmont and, in addition to the i3S, has the participation of 14 other partners, from institutions and companies with renown in the biomedical field from Italy (Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute, Turin Polytechnic), Finland (AALTO University, Tampere University of Technology), Switzerland (AO Research Institute), Latvia (Riga Institute of Technology), Serbia (University of Belgrade), Ireland (National University of Ireland) and several companies specializing in the biomedical field, which will be responsible for the application of the research products (Trustech Srl, Medacta International SA, The Nudge Marketing PR, BTech Innovations, EU Core, Science on the Street).