On May 9, the presentation event for the cascade calls of Spoke 5 (Industry of Health and Silver Economy) and Spoke 3 (Industry of Tourism and Culture) of NODES project took place in Lecce, that make available 2.5 million euros available to Southern enterprises.
The purpose of the cascade calls is to stimulate research, development and innovation investments by enterprises (especially SMEs) to promote the creation of new technologies, products and production processes, in strategic sectors for the economica and industrial growth of the country.
Professor Fabio Pollice, the Magnificient Rector of the University of Salento, warmly welcomed the researchers from the Spokes and the entrepreneurs interested in the calls in the Conference Hall within the evocative Rectorate located in the historic center of Lecce.
Representing the Universities and the Ecosystem were the Magnificient Rector of University of Piemonte Orientale, Professor Gian Carlo Avanzi and the General Director of the NODES Hub, Engineer Chiara Ferroni; but also, the Projects Manager of Spoke 3 and 5, Professor Barbara Pozzo and Professor Marco Invernizzi and finally the Project Area Manager of Unioncamere Piemonte, Dr. Micol Crostelli.
At the end of the presentations, an interesting exchange took place with the participating companies, highlighting the significant interest generated and the importance of strengthening the relations between the business world and the University.
The Cascade Call for Line A - Mezzogiorno - Spoke 5 is open starting from today, May 15, and can be accessed at the following link.
Proposals must be submitted through the WebTelemaco portal.
Click on the Compilation Guide to view the information material to support the upload.
Relive the presentation
On May 5, 2023, the second session of a webinar series organized by Confindustria Piemonte, Confindustria Lombardia - partners Enterprise Europe Network italia - in collaboration with Confindustria Valle D'Aosta and NODES - North West Digital and Sustainable took place. The webinar aimed to deepen the theme of cascade calls for enterprises located in Piemonte, Valle D'Aosta and provinces of Como, Pavia and Varese.
The NODES ecosystem was presented by Raffaella Di Nardo (Research and Innovation Manager),Cristina Prandi (University of Turin) illustrated the characteristics of Spoke 2, and Marco Invernizzi (University of Piemonte Orientale) those of Spoke 5. Finally, Edoardo Braccio has clarified exhaustively the initiative of cascade calls.
The aim was to encourage enterprises in the Piedmont region to partecipate in the funding opportunities by presenting the research and innovation themes of the 7 Spokes. In particular, the cascade calls relevant to Spoke 5 were discussed and the respective modalities of partecipation in the calls for proposals of Line A and Line B were explained by Unioncamere Piemonte.
Click here to rewatch the webinar recording ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIJEuGdbQTA
On April 18, 2023, Ph.D candidate Irene Preet Bhela, affiliated with Professor Tracey Pirali's laboratory, presented a seminar at the Department of Drug Sciences on Store-Operated Calcium Entry (SOCE).
SOCE is a complex mechanism based on two key proteins, STIM and Orai, which contribute to the regulation of calcium homeostasis.
Being crucial for numerous cellular functions such as inflammation, platelet activation, and muscle contraction, an alteration in this mechanism is linked to various pathologies.
Among these, the UPO laboratory is particularly active in researching both ultra-rare diseases, such as tubular aggregate myopathy (TAM) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
During this seminar, Dr. Bhela presented the chemical-pharmaceutical contirbution in the design and synthesis of negative modulators of SOCE which led to the identification of a preclinical candidate, in collaboration with the start-up Chemlcare, and prodrugs based on its structure of the latter.
She then discussed the fortuitous discovery of a promising hit compound with dual inhibitory activity on dihydrooratate dehydrogenase- involved in pyrimidine byosinthesis - and SOCE, as a potential therapeutic approach for treating autoimmune pathologies.
The role of Stakeholder Committe and how to join.
The NODES project includes Stakeholder Committes among the bodies for managing the Ecosystem. In these initial months of the project, Spoke 5 has been actively engaging representatives from the territory belonging to different areas (innovation, sustainability and digitalization) with a decisive impact on every aspect of human life - from health to the environment, from interpersonal relationships to democracy.
Associations, venture capital firms, chambers of commerce, professional orders, Invitalia, and incubators have been invited and involved.
The Stakeholder Committe of Spoke 5 currently consists of 13 members. The Committe has held two meetings to discuss flagship projects and educational needs.
