Cancer is the second cause of death in the western world and it is expected to become the leading one in developing countries in the next future. The long-term outcome of BaCTher is the improvement of the cancer treatment that can overcome the intrinsic limitations of the current therapies through the development of a new promising therapeutic strategy. The specific hypothesis behind the proposed research is that an attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (STMΔznuABC) is able to influence the tumor microenvironment (TME) reprogramming or re-educating the immune response, and inducing a shift from protumorigenic inflammation to anticancer immunity, which results in a tumor growth control. This hypothesis is based on the observation that: 1) there is compelling scientific evidence of the effect of bacteria, and in particular Salmonella, against cancer growth; 2) STMΔznuABC is able to reduce cancer growth and to increase the average life expectancy in a mammary adenocarcinoma Balb/c mice model; 3) STMΔznuABC is able to penetrate and proliferate into the tumor cells inhibiting the proliferation of tumor cells at 24h post-treatment. Three specific aims are designed to: 1) investigate the relationship between STMΔznuABC and TME; 2) characterize the mechanism of STMΔznuABC antitumor activity; 3) validate the results obtained in the preliminary studies using alternative in vivo models. The Experienced Researcher (ER), from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Italy, will spend one year at the Cancer Immunobiology Section of the Cancer and Inflammation Program (CIP), Center for Cancer Research (CCR), division of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Bethesda, MD USA, for mutual exchange of skills and know-how that will be transferred back to the beneficiary organisation (ISS), contributing to the establishment of a wider long-term collaboration between the ER and host institutions.

PREGART is a multi-national Phase-4 randomized clinical trial aimed at identifying optimal antiretroviral treatment (ART) regimens by comparing the efficacy and safety of dolutegravir- versus low-dose efavirenz (EFV400mg-) based first-line cART regimens in 1156 HIV-infected pregnant women and infant pairs in Ethiopia and Uganda. The primary outcomes are undetectable viral load at delivery, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly hampered all trial activities, including patient enrollment, follow-up, regulatory approvals, and trial site initiation. All clinical trial activities were suspended to protect the safety of study participants (pregnant women and infants) following the stay-at-home orders during the initial wave (March - September 2020) and intermittently during the subsequent waves of COVID-19. Furthermore, the PREGART trial activity was affected by the civil war in northern Ethiopia (2021/22) and the Ebola disease outbreak in Uganda (2022/23). Efforts have been made to mitigate these challenges by opening new trial sites, adapting protocols, and utilizing decentralized trial approaches to increase the participant recruitment rate. To complete the PREGART clinical trial, we request another 36 months and 1.8 million euros to compensate for time and incurred financial loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the civil war in Ethiopia, and the Ebola outbreak in Uganda. Completion of clinical trial activities and data analysis will fulfill our obligation to protect the scientific quality and data integrity, ensuring our commitments to study participants and meet PREGART trial objectives - to provide comprehensive and statistically powered evidence for policymakers on the maternal and infant safety and efficacy of dolutegravir and EFV 400mg containing cART. The study will contribute towards optimizing WHO and regional ART guidelines for HIV-infected pregnant and breastfeeding women.

SURE-AMR aims to improve the R&I capacities of IMBG to strengthen its scientific reputation, attractiveness and networking channels, while promoting scientific excellence in the field of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) under an One Health Approach (OHA). It aims to raise the level of excellence of IMBG to EU standards and to raise its profile nationally and at EU level through a sustainable framework for scientific and institutional capacity building, international collaboration and stakeholder engagement. The project will strengthen R&I and knowledge transfer through the development of targeted R&I study cases, training for IMBG researchers and IMBG staff, increased collaboration between academia, health sector and stakeholders with a general sustainable framework for research, international networking and a specific international mobility programme. Strengthening the experience of IMBG research staff, including a new generation of young scientists, will be achieved through the cooperation with EU partners with established scientific excellence in the topics and proven experience in economic impact and awareness raising and integration into national policies. At the scientific level, it is expected to enlarge the community of competitive and renowned researchers at IMBG in AMR, stronger and better connected to a core of international and relevant R&I systems, supported by skilled R&I managers with their international networks. At the social level, it is expected to improve the public health and environmental quality of Ukraine (and EU) through an OHA, while developing broader social systems appropriate to the Ukrainian context to face better prevention, analysis and mitigation of AMR. At the economic level, the project will contribute to the development of innovative protocols, methodologies and innovative solutions for the health and ecological sector and the profitability of regional companies through new process improvements, innovation support and job creation.