ENLIGHT Meeting in Naples 2023
A double win: The ENLIGHT consortium recently held its mid-project meeting at University of Naples Federico II in the beautiful city of Naples Italy, coinciding with a momentous occasion: the S.S.C. Napoli football club won the Series A football title, for the first time in 33 years! There was an electric energy in the air, as the consortium members celebrated both the progress of their project and the victory of the team.
For those unfamiliar with the project, ENLIGHT is a groundbreaking initiative that aims to develop a 3D bioprinted pancreas model by 2025 to test new drugs that treat diabetes. The consortium brings together experts in biomaterials, volumetric printing, and cell line development to create a cutting-edge model that could revolutionize diabetes research.
At the halfway point in the project, the consortium is working diligently to integrate their efforts to create a functional prototype. Responsible Researchand Innovation is at the forefront of their efforts, as Angela Simone of Fondazione Giannino Bassetti emphasized during the meeting. It is important that scientific progress is not only effective, but also responsible and ethical.
We also took the opportunity thank and recognize Jan-Philip Zegwaart from Rousselot, who has recently wrapped up his work on biomaterial-related tasks of the project. We extend our sincerest gratitude to him for two years of dedicated research and his instrumental work on advancing the ENLIGHT pancreatic model. We wish him all the best as he moves on to new challenges.
Overall, the ENLIGHT mid-project meeting in Naples was a truly special occasion, marking the intersection of sports and science. Congratulations are in order to S.S.C. Napoli, and the champions of the project – all the consortium members – for their hard work and dedication. We look forward to hearing more about their progress and the positive impact their research will have on diabetes treatment in Ghent in November. Who knows what awaits us in Belgium!
Thanks so much to our hosting institution University of Naples Federico II and the attending consortium partners: Rousselot, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Readily3D, AstraZeneca, Fondazione Giannino Bassetti, ETH Zürich, UMC Utrecht
