Page 97 - MaquetaFundCIEN-2019-ENG

Current COEN members are:
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
• Deutsche Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE, Germany)
• Medical Research Council (MRC, United Kingdom)
• Flanders Institute of Biotechnology (VIB Flanders, Belgium)
• Health Research Board (HRB) / Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Ireland
• Ministero della Salute (MDS, Italy) Centre of Excellence for Brain Research
(MESRS), Slovakia
• CIBERNED-Fundación CIEN, Spain
• Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), France
The global objective of this initiative is to create a collaborative research frame- work in the field of neurodegeneration that transcends national borders, with special emphasis on critical mass and excellence. COEN is aligned with the JPND, although it functions as an independent entity. The overlapping of the members of the COEN group with those of the JPND ensures that their comple- mentary objectives are developed in close cooperation with the rest. This has been carried out through a two-phase process: first conducting expert work- shops to determine the scope of the needs, followed by a call for proposals to establish collaborative teams among the PIs assigned to the participating National Centers of Excellence.
The first phase of the COEN initiative began at the end of 2010 and was intend- ed to establish common resources and methodological approaches to support future studies. Some of the key issues addressed have been: the refinement and validation of cellular and animal disease models; the development of new measures to define patient subgroups for clinical trials; the identification of new biomarkers to support translational research; the development and har- monization of cognitive test batteries for diagnosis and follow-up of disease progression; and the establishment of common computer platforms to improve data analysis and exchange.
Phase II of the initiative was launched during the year 2013, with the launch of the 1st call for projects called “Pathfinder.” In the years 2015 and 2017, the sub- sequent 2nd and 3rd calls were launched, whereas the 4th call was launched during 2019.
These calls for “Pathfinder” research projects aim to catalyze collaborative research between the different centers with a critical mass of resources and knowledge to drive a radical change in research in the field of neurodegener- ation. Pathfinder project calls aim to encourage the scientific community to think outside the pre-established frameworks, to stimulate new unconventional approaches and thus reach creative solutions to the challenges of neurode- generation research, carrying out high-risk/high-reward projects and welcom- ing unconventional and innovative applications.
5. International relations
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