Given the tragic legacy of unscrupulous research conducted on human subjects during the 20th century, ethics debates and regulations have taken a precautionary approach that gives pivotal attention to individual autonomy and protection of vulnerable subjects. While this approach has led to a much-needed increase of awareness about the importance of respecting human dignity and human rights in biomedical research and clinical trials, it risks causing two unintended consequences: 1) it might overshadow positive understandings of clinical trials; 2) it might limit participation of adolescents and young adults. CareInTrials therefore takes a bottom-up approach to research ethics and focuses on the experiences and narratives of youth participating in clinical trials. It is an empirical philosophy study. On the one hand, it conducts ethnographic observations and interviews with participants, their parents/legal representatives and researchers in a leading European Clinical Trials Unit. On the other hand, it does a philosophical analysis, which focuses on lived embodied experiences and the situated existential dimension of youth. For scientific rigor, a secondment in a Research Unit dedicated to philosophy and history of science is part of the action. This research ultimately aims to provide new insights and recommendations for more nuanced and tailored regulations on clinical trials, which acknowledge both youth’s demand for autonomy and their condition of vulnerability. Given the intersectoral and international cooperation involved, this action represents a unique opportunity for the researcher to gain experience and visibility to be spent in future academic and health-related employments, while contributing to societal strive for youth’s inclusion and empowerment.

Neuroblastoma (NB), a rare paediatric solid tumour, accounts for 15% of childhood cancer deaths. Immunotherapy has improved the survival for haematological malignancies, but solid tumours remain a challenge. The high heterogeneity, low mutational load, and strong immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment (i-TME) have hindered the success of immunotherapy in NB. Recently, natural killer (NK) cells have stood as a promising immunotherapeutic tool, as they don’t depend on specific mutations. Still, clinical trials for NB show only modest results, proving further action is needed to overcome the iTME. Late findings show that refractory tumours often respond to Ferroptosis, a novel cell death mechanism that is highly immunogenic. Cancer cells undergoing ferroptosis release HMGB1 and other well-known recruiters of NK cells. Moreover, ferroptotic drugs can act through several mechanisms and can be adapted to patients with different tumour characteristics. The goal of IronKiller is to combine ferroptotic drugs with NK cell therapy to treat refractory NB, and to perform in silico modelling of the results to predict which patients would benefit from this novel therapy. I am an experienced biologist and engineer joining a clinical research group strong in immunotherapies. We will follow an in vitro-in vivo-in silico strategy that will cover a variety of disciplines, from basic biology and pre-clinical research, all the way to bioinformatics and machine learning. I will reinforce my experience in cell death mechanisms and translational research, and I will also acquire new knowledge and skills in the areas of cell immunotherapy and oncological mathematical modelling. The latter through a secondment at an academic institution. Along with the research work, the diverse training, management and communication activities planned, will play a key role in advancing my professional development towards becoming an independent academic group leader in translational cancer research.

The gut microbiome is involved in numerous processes that include protection against colonization and infection by pathogenic organisms. The extensive use of antibiotics could result in dysbiosis with detrimental effects on the health of the individual, in addition to increasing the risk of driving the emergence of multi-drug resistant organisms. This is especially concerning among paediatric transplant patient, a group of patients with special needs that are heavily reliant on antibiotics after surgery. It has been shown that determining the load of resistance genes among the gut microbial organisms could be a predictive factor for the development of pathogenic infections. Along these lines, qMAR’s main objective is to evaluate the use of qPCR for monitoring biomarkers, in terms of the intestinal load of selected antibiotic resistance genes in the resistome over time, as tools that could be used in PMed approaches for paediatric transplant patients. In order to achieve this, faecal samples and medical records will be collected from each paediatric transplant patients over a period of 12 months. Antibiotic susceptibility testing will be performed using VITEK-2. qPCR will be performed directly on the samples in order to determine the load of epidemiologically relevant resistant genes over time. Multi-locus sequence typing will be performed for determining the clonality of the isolates. Statistical analyses will also be performed in order to determine associations between clinical interventions, the load of resistance genes, and clinical outcomes. The main expected result is determining a threshold of resistance genes after which adverse clinical outcomes would be expected, and determining how clinical interventions are affecting the load of resistance genes and the microbiome.

MIMECOR aims to develop an artificial and biomimetic cornea to achieve a major improvement in the quality of life of corneal disease patients, reducing their dependence on corneal transplants. This will be reached through the preparation and further modifications of a human-like cornea through the combination of additive manufacturing, stem cell transdifferentiation, and colonisation as an alternative to natural cornea donation. This approach is going to be a major breakthrough in Ophthalmology, as it will overcome the existing limitations of current treatments: it could become a reference in the therapy for specific corneal pathologies. The candidate researcher, Dr. Marć will provide to the project with her broad experience in applied preclinical research, gained in academic and industrial research groups of different European countries. She will learn cutting-edge techniques in Regenerative Medicine applied to Ophthalmology, through the interaction with a multidisciplinary, collaborative, and creative environment with specialists in engineering, medicine, physics, biology, and biochemistry. The candidate will perfect research skills such as experimental design, scientific writing, open science and data analysis. Moreover, through diverse training activities and a non-academic placement at a small-medium enterprise (the largest monographic ophthalmological private hospital in Europe), Dr. Marć will also acquire transferable skills and experience in grant implementation, ethics in Responsible Research and Innovation, time management, and scientific communication and divulgation. Besides, this formative plan accommodates her needs with the capabilities of the hosting group and institution. All this knowledge and skills will be crucial for the career success of the researcher. Due to her knowledge of the local language, Dr. Marć intends to become an established biomedical scientist in Spain after MSCA-PF, applying for Spanish postdoctoral grants and positions.

“Advancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Clinical Trials” (EDICT) establishes an innovative Doctoral Network to transform how equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) principles are embedded in clinical trials across Europe. While clinical trials are essential for advancing medical knowledge, systematic exclusion of diverse populations undermines scientific validity and limits healthcare impact. EDICT will train the next generation of research leaders, equipped with specialised methodological expertise and practical skills to transform how clinical trials are designed and conducted, ensuring meaningful representation of diverse populations. Leveraging expertise from multiple sectors—including academia, the pharmaceutical and MedTech industries, patient advocacy, regulatory bodies, trial networks, science communication, and evidence production—EDICT will support 16 (14 EU; 2 Swiss) doctoral candidates in developing solutions that enhance recruitment, improve data inclusivity, and ensure that trial outcomes are representative of broader population needs. The network will deliver concrete EDI innovations, including standardised metrics for measuring trial diversity, AI-powered tools for detecting recruitment bias, culturally-adapted consent processes, and implementation frameworks. These outputs will transform how EDI is implemented across the clinical trials ecosystem. Through structured mobility between interdisciplinary academic, industry and policy environments, doctoral candidates will develop comprehensive expertise across four key domains: standardised measurement of trial diversity, innovative EDI methodologies, practical implementation tools, and frameworks for systemic change. EDICT will establish a permanent network of EDI champions, driving sustainable improvement in clinical trial inclusivity while advancing Europe's capacity to conduct equitable, representative, and scientifically robust health research.