2023: a great year for the Pianoforte Partnership coordinated by IRSN
Launched in June 2022 as part of EU research and innovation framework program Horizon Europe/EURATOM, the European research partnership Pianoforte aims to improve knowledge and promote innovation in the field of radiation protection on behalf of better protection of the public, patients, workers and the environment in all scenarios of exposure to ionizing radiation.
Coordinated by IRSN, the Pianoforte partnership brings together 58 partners representing 22 countries of the European Union as well as the United Kingdom and Norway.
The year 2023 saw the first major milestone of the partnership with the launch of Pianoforte's 1st open call for proposals, focused on three main topics:
- Topic 1: Developing a knowledge base for a better understanding of disease pathogenesis of ionising radiation-induced cancer to improve risk assessment.
- Topic 2: Individualised diagnostic as well as therapeutic procedures with regard to optimisation of the benefit/risk ratio.
- Topic 3: Development of risk assessment and risk management approaches and technological capabilities to cope with scenarios arising from threats due to war or armed conflicts situations or natural disasters taking into consideration social, ethical, and legal issues.
24 research project proposals were received for the call, representing more than 100 different organizations. After an evaluation process by a review panel of international experts, the 9 winning projects were approved on December 6th, 2023, and presented during a meeting held in Budapest (Hungary). Throughout the duration of the projects, IRSN will work alongside the coordinators of the selected projects to provide them with the assistance they need to ensure that they run smoothly.
Finally, the coming year promises to be a busy one, with the launch of the second call for projects at the end of the first quarter of 2024. IRSN, in its role as coordinator and drawing on the experience gained from the first call for tenders, will be on hand to make this one a success.