CELLCHECK · On-chip cell handling and analysis

Final Activity Report Summary - CELLCHECK (On-chip cell handling and analysis)

All planned network meetings including courses have taken place and were very inspiring and successful. Especially the meetings where the fellows presented their research were a source of scientific interaction which led to new ideas and new cooperation-s. The list containing the work visits, secondments and company visits by fellows is very long. All fellows participated very actively in the training that was offered, also in the last period (21 months) of the network. Four fellows have successfully defended their PhD research in 2011 (Cama, Vazquez, van den Driesche, and Finoulst). The PhD defence of six other fellows is foreseen in 2012, and two are scheduled to finish in 2013/2014. The research has been highly interesting and successful and the cooperation between partners has been very strong. The work has led to the realisation of 5 demonstrators. The scientific and technical results of the CELLCHECK project receive a lot of attention, both from research institutions and from industry. Several devices that were realised show breakthroughs in biotechnological measurement problems, such as the cell array chips for studying communication between cells, the infrared biopsy-tester, the cell-from-cell separator, and the lab-on-chip for detection of Epstein-Barr virus infection. The results of the research have been published in a range of journals and presented at a large number of international conferences. The publication output of the CELLCHECK network after these four years and nine months (until Dec. 31, 2011) is as follows: 24 journal papers on CELLCHECK work have been published and 77 papers were published in proceedings of international (top) conferences. Further, 22 papers were presented in proceedings of national conferences. Of this total of 123 (!) publications, 40 were joint activities of two or more CELLCHECK partners. The three patents that were submitted have been filed. In addition, 38 invited presentations were presented by CELLCHECK partners. The network in all its aspects was well-organized and no severe problems have occurred (except for a fire in labs and offices of partner IVS, Bratislava). The progress of the work was discussed at all network meetings. The bi-annual frequency appeared to be very useful for the consortium. The recruitment of the fellows mostly went well. Recruitment of high quality Postdocs with the right background appeared difficult in some cases. Almost all fellow hours have been used, although appointment often came with delays. A major management aspect concerned the organisation of the work after the fire in the labs and offices of partner IVS. IVS had a core position in the network because they were the supplier of several cell lines and made reference measurements to which the other partners compared their own experiments. The involved partners were able to make a new time scheme very quickly. This was submitted to the EC with a request for cost neutral extension of the network, which was accepted. In total we had 29 fellows under contract in the CELLCHECK network, 16 ESRs and 13 ERs. 13 of the fellows are female, 16 are male. All partners were active and contributed significantly to the network, also in the last period of 21 months. At the Mid-term meeting in Basel the EC officer Begoña Laibarra was present. Her report on the progress of the CELLCHECK project was very positive. The recommendations she made were implemented. Some shifts of budget have been decided on in order to allow the shift of personnel months from one partner to the other. These shifts have been discussed upfront with the EC project officer. As a final conclusion we state that the MCRTN CELLCHECK has been highly successful in research and training with highly active partners and fellows.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union