{"id":54152,"date":"2024-07-22T02:04:44","date_gmt":"2024-07-22T02:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/?p=54152"},"modified":"2024-07-22T02:37:23","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T02:37:23","slug":"cost-a-career-booster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/2024\/07\/22\/cost-a-career-booster\/","title":{"rendered":"COST: a career booster!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Analysis of COST Action membership indicates that 42% of Action participants are Young Researchers and Innovators. The networking activities organised through COST Actions are hugely valuable opportunities for young participants to prepare for the next steps in their careers.<\/p>\n

COST encourages Younger Researchers to take on leadership roles that can boost self-confidence and motivation. COST also promotes \u2018brain circulation\u2019 within Europe, through its highly appreciated Short-Term Scientific Missions, helping Young Researchers and Innovators from all parts of Europe to gain international experience without the need for a permanent move from their home country.<\/p>\n

COST is also very conscious of the need to address diversity and inclusion issues, in particular gender balance to ensure equal opportunities for career advancement.<\/p>\n

A welcoming community<\/h2>\n

Ulf Kahlert is currently a Professor of molecular and experimental surgery at Magdeburg University, Germany, but when he first joined the COST Action Cancer nanomedicine \u2013 from the bench to the bedside (NANO2CLINIC)<\/a> he was a young independent group leader at Heinrich-Heine University D\u00fcsseldorf. NANO2CLINIC focused on the potential use of nanomedicines as effective cancer therapies that may offer significant advantages over traditional drugs. The Action aimed to foster collaboration between academia and industry to accelerate the move of nanomedicines from the lab to become available treatments for cancer patients.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

\u201cMy focus at the time was looking for funding for my work on tumour models, and I was becoming interested in nanomedicine,\u201d <\/em>explains Ulf. \u201cI joined the first Action meeting in Riga in late 2019 and it was like an adventure. I had little concrete knowledge of nanomedicine at the time, and I was joining a group of experts. But I took the chance and talked to people from the start. I was elected a vice-leader of one of the Action\u2019s Working Groups and was quickly part of the core group.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n
Prof. Ulf Kahlert of Magdeburg University, \u00a9 Sarah Kossmann<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Ulf found that many researchers developing nanomedicines did not have links with clinicians. \u201cThis was the bridge<\/em>\u201c he explains. \u201cThey needed clinical predictive cancer models to develop or validate their molecules, so it was relatively easy to connect<\/em>.\u201d He really appreciated the welcoming atmosphere of the Action and the support of the Action\u2019s Chair Professor Sabrina Pricl of Trieste University. \u201cSabrina was welcoming from the get-go<\/em>\u201d he says. \u201cI remember discussions with Sabrina where she advised me on the focus of my research and how to achieve things. She gave me confidence that my path was right<\/em>.\u201d Sabrina also appreciated Ulf\u2019s input to the Action. \u201cDuring the Action he grew a lot<\/em>\u201d she says. \u201cHe brought an enormous contribution to the Action. He was a real motor, and his personal expenditure of effort then brought him a significant reward in return.<\/em>\u201d NANO2CLINIC had a clear focus on Young Researchers and Innovators with four of the Working Group vice leaders being younger researchers and, despite running through the COVID pandemic, organised some 93 Short-Term Scientific Missions and two Training Schools plus weekly hugely popular online seminars in direct response to the pandemic. The Action also looked to have an impact at the regulatory level. \u201cNanomedicines are new forms of therapy and the route from laboratory to authorisation and clinical use is not straightforward<\/em>\u201d Sabrina explains. \u201cThe idea was to include nanomedicines and nanosimilars in the current review of authorisation procedures of medical products by the European Commission to ensure people know what you have to do.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

The Action proposed amendments to the procedures and regulations and supplied supporting data. The Commission\u2019s proposal for a new directive in the area was published in April 2023 and is currently under consultation with the European Parliament and Council.<\/p>\n

International mobility<\/h2>\n

COST Action European Network on International Student Mobility: Connecting Research and Practice (ENIS)<\/a> is a large Action with more than 300 members. \u201cIt just keeps on growing<\/em>\u201d says Dr Christof Van Mol of Tilburg University, the Action\u2019s Chair. \u201cWe receive new applications to join every week.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Organising such a large group, while remaining open and transparent could be challenging. \u201cFortunately, we have a good team of core members who manage the day-today activities and share the burden<\/em>\u201c Christof explains.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Photo<\/figure>\n
\n
\n

\u201cThe wonderful thing about COST is that it allows you to support so many other people\u2019s careers, which in terms of personal satisfaction is a great feeling\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dr Christof Van Mol of Tilburg University<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In addition, the Action quickly established clear rules, for example on reimbursement, to ensure opportunities were not limited and to avoid unnecessary friction. The Action also developed a Gender Inclusion Action Plan<\/a>. \u201cFrom the very beginning of the Action we noted the persistent gender inequalities in research and also in corporate sectors<\/em>\u201d says Christof. \u201cWe addressed this by making sure all the leadership positions had an equal gender distribution and we also created some Top-up family grants for members with caregiving roles.<\/em>\u201d The Action started from the observation that there were a lot of people working on international student mobility that were not connected. In particular, there was a lack of engagement between research and practice. To help start building bridges the ENIS developed short policy briefs summarising relevant insights in a specific area and sent these to stakeholders. The Action also sought input from stakeholders on what knowledge they needed. This resulted in a co-creation process that has so far produced five Policy Briefs that are having an immediate impact. \u201cMy involvement with COST changed my career quite a bit<\/em>\u201d concludes Christof. \u201cThe wonderful thing about COST is that it allows you to support so many other people\u2019s careers, which in terms of personal satisfaction is a great feeling. This also means that everyone knows me and, indirectly, I get more invites to talk and contribute to papers etc, so this has had a massive impact on my profile.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Radiating success<\/h2>\n

Another large research network, Multiscale Irradiation and Chemistry Driven Processes and Related Technologies (MultIChem)<\/a>, brought together some 200 researchers from 39 countries to improve the fundamental understanding of physicochemical processes induced by radiation in various molecular and nano-systems.<\/p>\n

The Action Chair is Dr Alexey Verkhovtsev of the MBN Research Center in Frankfurt and although the Action is only roughly halfway through, he already sees three principal accomplishments. \u201cFirstly, we have formed a European community of experts drawing from the many different research fields in this area including radiation physics and chemistry; computational modelling; atomic and molecular physics; biophysics; radiation biology; materials science; and nanotechnology, as well as industrial partners and representatives of radiotherapy centres<\/em>\u201d he says. \u201cSecondly we have organised a large number of different activities to maintain the right momentum<\/em>\u201d Alexey continues. \u201cThis includes two annual conferences and three Training Schools for Young Researchers. This is an important aspect of the Action: training the next generation of researchers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"A
Participants of the MultIChem meeting in Boppard, Germany<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The third achievement is the development of a comprehensive roadmap<\/a> that provides an overview of this highly interdisciplinary research space. \u201cThe roadmap highlights several examples of recent advances in this field and also provides guidelines for the development of the research area for the next five to ten years<\/em>\u201d says Alexey. The roadmap was authored by a large group of MultIChem participants and was submitted for publication in December 2023. \u201cIt is already available as a preprint online and is expected to be published in 2024<\/em>\u201d continues Alexey.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe experience has taken me to a different level\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Dr Alexey Verkhovtsev of the MBN Research Center in Frankfurt, Chair of MultIChem<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cChairing the Action has helped me to improve different skills, especially in terms of communication and coordination skills. The experience, together with the constant feedback and advice from more experienced colleagues, has taken me to a different level<\/em>\u201d concludes Alexey.<\/p>\n

Additional information<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Analysis of COST Action membership indicates that 42% of Action participants are Young Researchers and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54152"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54152"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54176,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54152\/revisions\/54176"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}