The PRECODE Network (PancREatic Cancer OrganoiDs rEsearch) central mission is to establish pancreatic organoid research firmly in the European Union, by training the next generation of creative and innovative researchers in pancreatic cancer.
This will be done through a shared doctorate program of excellence that fulfills the three “I”: international, interdisciplinary and intersectorial. Organoids can be viewed as small microorgans which can recapitulate the organization and the function thereof. As micro-organs organoids can be used to reduce animal experiments and help to reach 3R goals. Organoids from pancreatic cancer will help us to learn which drugs might help in the therapy of this terrible disease. They can be isolated from a variety of clinical sources with minimal material needed. This makes them a perfect tool for precision medicine.
Sequencing, metabolomics and high throughput in vitro experiments to deduct the best possible drug combination fit hand in glove with this approach. Training of ESRs will be achieved by e-learning, workshops, and secondments. They will earn to cultivate and manipulate organoids as well as cutting edge molecular biology techniques. Therefore our workgroup consists of 15 beneficiaries and 7 partner organization (including three patient advocate groups from Sweden, Italy, and Germany) to develop those technologies and to train ESRs in their application.
PRECODE will, therefore, connect the concepts of investigation, education and innovation establishing capacitation for the ESRs that goes beyond the state of the art and that will allow them to improve their competences and their professional career at the same time that we advance towards innovation in the field of pancreatic cancer research.
Acknowledgment
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement Nº 861196.
