On Friday 5 June, Neuronet convened an online meeting of its Scientific Coordination Board (SCB). The Neuronet SCB is composed of 16 leaders from Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) projects on neurodegeneration, including EMIF, AMYPAD, ROADMAP, MOPEAD and EPAD among others. 10 IMI projects were represented at the SCB meeting, which was chaired by the project Coordinator, Carlos Diaz (SYNAPSE Research Management Partners) and the project Leader, Lennert Steukers (Janssen). The meeting was also attended by Neuronet consortium members from SYNAPSE, Janssen, Sanofi, NICE and Alzheimer Europe.
Neuronet, a coordination and support action (CSA) for the neurodegeneration projects of the IMI portfolio, aims to enhance collaboration and communication between projects, multiplying the portfolio’s impact and enhancing its visibility in Europe and beyond. Nina Coll of SYNAPSE kicked off the SCB meeting by providing a brief overview of the tools and platforms developed by the Neuronet to support IMI projects, including the Knowledge Base and Asset Map.
Next, Carlos Diaz chaired a discussion on the impact of COVID-19 on projects, during which project leaders outlined the effects that the Europe-wide lockdown measures are having on their project activities. Several projects involving clinical studies have had to cease recruitment and study visits, while preclinical research has also been halted for certain projects due to the closure of laboratories. The SCB members expressed concern at the prospect of ND research being deprioritised, and also at the detrimental effects of the pandemic on early career researchers. Carlos Diaz closed the SCB meeting by summarising some of the key priorities for Neuronet over the next few months, including sustainability mechanisms for key assets and activities to support ECRs working on IMI ND projects. The next SCB meeting will be held in the autumn.
