HEALTH

This proposal builds on existing expertise and collaborations of a multidisciplinary Consortium of basic scientists and clinical investigators each of whom has made a substantial individual contribution to understanding the links between infection and autoimmunity. The aim of the INTRICATE Consortium is to prosecute a programme of Translational Research that deliniates the role of infection in the induction and perpetuation of severe systemic autoimmune disease with the ultimate object of identifying new therapeutic strategies based on knowledge of pathogenesis.

International Research Project on Financing Quality in Healthcare InterQuality gathers the interest for financing systems' effect on quality of healthcare of researchers from seven EU countries and US. The study, based on administrative and survey data, is designed for 36 months. It will take into account needs of four different patient groups (sectors), affected by: hospital, outpatient, pharmaceutical and integrated care. The scope of research will cover: utilization of resources and efficiency, quality of care, including: equity of access, patient satisfaction and safety of treatment.

A detailed understanding of human biology will require characterisation of the human-associated microorganisms, the human microbiome, and of the roles these microbes play in health and disease. Large projects in Europe, the United States, China and Canada target these objectives, using high throughput ?omics approaches. Given the complexity of our microbial communities, composed of thousands of species and differing considerably between individuals, as well as the multitude of effects they have on our biology, none of the projects can hope to achieve their comprehensive characterisation.

The 2009 H1N1 pandemic and the ongoing threat of highly pathogenic H5N1 strains have focused attention worldwide on the urgent need for effective anti-influenza drug options when the public is not protected by vaccination. The need is pressing since several circulating strains are resistant to currently stock-piled anti-neuraminidase drugs.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers in both males and females, and it is perhaps the best understood of all epithelial tumours in terms of its molecular origin. Yet, despite large amount of work that has concentrated on understanding of colon tumourrigenesis, we still do not know the full complement of molecular lesions that are individually necessary and sufficient at the same time to cause colorectal cancer. Neither do we understand why some specific mutations that are relatively rare in other tumours (e.g.

High-throughput next-generation DNA sequencing technologies allow investigators to sequence entire human genomes at an affordable price and within a short time frame. The correct interpretation, storage, and dissemination of the large amount of produced genomics data generate major challenges. Tackling these challenges requires extensive exchange of data, information and knowledge between medical scientists, sequencing centres, bioinformatics networks and industry at the European level.

Protein glycosylation is a post-translational phenomenon that is involved in most physiological and disease processes including cancer. Most of the known cancer-associated glycobiomarkers were discovered individually using liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy. Though valuable, there is room for improvement in these approaches for the discovery phase. There is also a critical need for innovative, rapid, and high-throughput (HTP) technologies that will translate the discovery of cancer-associated glycobiomarkers from basic science to clinical application.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for more than 90% of liver cancers, and is a major health problem. Its incidence is growing and with more than 700,000 annual cases worldwide -50,000 in Europe-, it is the 3rd cause of cancer-related mortality. Most patients are diagnosed at advanced stages with dismal survival rates lower than 1 year, even after sorafenib, the sole systemic therapy available.

Hospitals in European countries apply a wide range of quality improvement strategies; however, knowledge on the effectiveness of these strategies is limited. Objectives We propose to study the effectiveness of quality improvement systems in European hospitals.

ECHOUTCOME is an interdisciplinary European research platform with the aim of assessing methodological properties of Healthcare Outcome and Cost-Benefit studies.

The ECHOUTCOME consortium is composed by eight partners from 4 countries including three academic international experts in Outcome Research from, the French Scientific Society in Health Economics, the European office of one Multinational BioPharma industry, two research organisations (SME) specialized in advanced statistics and modelling and one organization specialized in international research administration.