The European Union (EU) has established funding programmes in the areas of research and public health which are applicable and potentially supportive of EASL's work.
EU Research Framework Programme (FP)
The EU's main instrument to support EU's research is the Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7) (2007-2013) which has allocated a budget of over €6 billion to health only. Unfortunately, liver disease remains absent from the overall FP7's health priorities. This is why EASL has been pushing for the inclusion of calls for proposal related to liver disease within the different streams of FP7's priorities, e.g. within cancer, chronic diseases and rare diseases.
| Special Announcement – June 2010 |
FP7 Health Award 2010 goes to the first liver cancer research network.
EASL is delighted to announce that the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (FP7-Health 2010) will be supporting the HEPTROMIC project, an international 3-year translational research initiative on liver cancer. This network, aimed at solving molecular and technological challenges, constitutes the first European research project specifically focused on genomics in HCC funded by the European Union. With the final negotiations with the European Commission well underway, HEPTROMIC is currently gearing up to become a decisive modern cooperative and multidisciplinary effort in the fight against this cancer. Led from the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) - Hospital Clínic of Barcelona (Spain), this initiative combines the knowhow of six leading research groups in Europe and the USA and two companies, to ensure the translation of research results into new prognostic tests and devices.
EASL member Josep M Llovet, MD, Professor of Research, ICREA, BCLC Group, Liver Unit, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Hospital Clínic Barcelona is acting as coordinator, other co-investigators are from INSERM- Zucman-Rossi, IDIBELL- Esteller, Harvard/MIT- Golub, INT- Mazzaferro, Univ Hannover- Zender, and EASL Sheila Sherlock awardee (2008), Augusto Villanueva, is to be nominated as Scientific Manager.
This FP7 award is a great achievement as this is the sole network in translational research focused on HCC sponsored by the EU Commission in the setting of the FP7 programme. It also proof of the relevance of EASL’s ongoing commitment to champion research initiatives and awareness programmes that will shape the future of the management of liver cancer. We wish the HEPTROMIC Consortium great success throughout the programme.
EU Public Health Action Programme (PHAP)
The EU has adopted its Second Public Health Programme (2008-2013), whose annual programme is implemented by the Executive Agency for Health and Consumers (EAHC) with the annual publication of calls for proposal. Although, the programme fails to specifically prioritise 'liver disease', EASL has successfully been making the case for the inclusion of calls for proposal in relation to liver disease within the other priorities (.e.g., EASL 2008 response to the European Commission open consultation on health priorities).
Find out about the EU Framework Programme Application Support Programme that EASL has developed to support your projects during the application process of an FP7 call.
