CoDaFlight (Colouring the Dark in Fluorescence light) radical vision is the development of a next-generation optical imaging platform, capable of revealing in real-time new and more accurate information, that provides an optical fingerprint related to a patient’s body and its diseases through an innovative time-domain fluorescence imaging (tdFLI) technology.

The objectives of CoDaFlight are to develop the technological foundations that are needed to enable real-time in vivo tdFLI in medical practice and to integrate these foundations into a complete imaging system. The real-time imaging of fluorescence lifetime, deep into the patient, permits the unlocking of additional features, where today’s medical imaging systems remain in the dark. This means that CoDaFlight will kickstart a new biomedical research field and addresses the need for safe and easy to use diagnostic imaging technology for immediate feedback during medical interventions and for continuous health monitoring.

The project has been awarded 3 million Euro, from the EU, for the research into time-domain fluorescence imaging and has been launched on October 1, 2022.

The CoDaFlight consortium consists of 5 European partners: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium; Prof. Maarten Kuijk (Project Coordinator), Universitätsmedizin Göttingen Germany; Prof. Frauke Alves, FORTH Greece; Dr. Giannis Zacharakis, Université de Bourgogne, France; Prof. Franck Denat, and Universitetet i Bergen, Norway; Prof. Emmet McCormack.

The scientists from the partners will execute a multidisciplinary, holistic approach that allows both parallel and integrated research progression, on semiconductor image sensors, illumination, mathematical algorithms, fluorescent dyes, as well as the biological proof of concept.

CoDaFlight will demonstrate and disseminate the capabilities and potentials of this novel technology through clinically relevant in vivo proof-of-concepts in the field of oncology and dermatology with the goal to facilitate technology acceptance by end-users and uptake in new markets and biomedical applications.

Website Codaflight

Contact: Put in the name of the contact at the partner institution and / or use

VUB - Rik van Heijningen (rik.van.heijningen@vub.be)

UB – Franck Denat (franck.denat@u-bourgogne.fr)

Selon l'Organisation mondiale de la santé, il est attendu que « d'ici à 2050, la population mondiale âgée de 60 ans et plus atteigne 2 milliards de personnes, contre 900 millions en 2015 ». Du fait du vieillissement global de la population, les problèmes de santé associés, tels que les syndromes gériatriques ou encore les maladies neurodégénératives, sont devenus un enjeu sociétal majeur. Parmi ces maladies, les « démences » (terme générique qui caractérise la perte progressive des aptitudes mentales et physiques) sont particulièrement inquiétantes, du fait qu'il n'existe à ce jour aucune approche thérapeutique valide. Dans ce contexte la découverte en 2011 d'un marqueur génétique commun des maladies de Pick et Charcot (également nommée dégénérescence frontotemporale et sclérose latérale amyotrophique) a ouvert des perspectives nouvelles : les patients souffrant de ces maladies sont porteurs d'une aberration génétique au niveau du chromosome 9. Cette aberration entraine la formation au sein des cellules neuronales de structures d'acides nucléiques (ADN et ARN) non-usuelles et très stables, appelées quadruplexes, qui seraient responsables de la neurotoxicité. Dans le cadre du projet SEQUENTIA nous proposons d'exploiter cette spécificité génétique en développant un programme de recherche axé sur l'étude des structures quadruplexes in vitro et en cellules humaines pour proposer une approche thérapeutique innovante contre ce fléau sociétal.

Descriptif du projet

Le cancer colorectal métastatique (mCRC) et le cancer gastrique metastatique (mGC) sont parmi les cancers les plus agressifs pour lesquels les stratégies thérapeutiques actuelles restent insuffisantes. L'administration de radiopharmaceutiques pour délivrer spécifiquement des isotopes radioactifs à une cible associée aux tumeurs, apparait comme une approche prometteuse combinant diagnostic et thérapie (théranostique) de ce type de cancer disséminé. Le projet COMETE vise à développer des molécules théranostiques par modification chimique de protéines capables de reconnaître spécifiquement des cibles tumorales, en leur greffant un agent chélatant de radionucléides à visée thérapeutique (radiothérapie interne vectorisée, RIV) et diagnostique (compagnon diagnostique).

Notre projet s'articule autour de 4 objectifs :

1/ L'identification et la validation de cibles tumorales,
2/ le développement de nouvelles molécules de RIV pour traiter les mCRC et mGC,
3/ L'évaluation de l'efficacité antitumorale et de la toxicité des molécules de RIV suivant le radionucléide utilisé sur
des modèles précliniques
4/ Le développement d'agents d'imagerie compagnons pour sélectionner les patients répondeurs, déterminer la dose optimale, et suivre l'efficacité de la RIV. Ce projet ouvre la voie au développement de nouvelles approches de prise en charge personnalisée des patients afin d'améliorer l'efficacité des thérapies tout en limitant les effets secondaires potentiels.

Coût total programmé : 2 198 504,03 €
Montant UE programmé : 1 954 804,03 €

Partenaires OPM , CGFL Montant total UE programmé : 7,8 M€ 

Début prévisionnel d’opération : 01/06/2023
Fin prévisionnelle d’opération : 01/06/2028

"Before new drugs are marketed, regulatory authorities must be satisfied that the benefits from the new drug outweigh any harms that might occur. The characterisation and amelioration of potential harms is called Drug Safety Assessment.

Biomarkers are important in Drug Safety Assessment. A Biomarker is a defined characteristic that is measured as an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or responses to an exposure or intervention, including therapeutic interventions. Molecular, histologic, radiographic (imaging), or physiologic characteristics are all types of Biomarkers.
Translational research is focussed on the so-called ""translational gaps"" in medical research. It takes laboratory research findings in vitro and in vivo, and uses them to improve the design and interpretation of clinical studies. It takes clinical research findings, and uses them to improve human health. In addition, it takes clinical findings, and uses them to improve the design and interpretation of in vitro and in vivo laboratory studies.
IB4SD-TRISTAN (""TRISTAN"") is a project devised in response to the 7th call for research proposals under IMI 2, on the validation of translational imaging methods in drug safety assessment. TRISTAN aims to improve imaging methods and biomarkers for the prevention, mitigation and management of drug-induced harm to patients in three specific areas. These areas are (1) (WP2) drug-induced changes in fluxes through liver transporters causing drug-induced liver injury (DILI) and drug-drug interactions (DDIs), (2) (WP3) drug-induced interstitial lung disease (DIILD), (3) (WP4) harms arising from mal-distribution of large-molecule drugs.

The project SSUCHY falls within the framework of the development and optimization of innovative and eco-efficient processes and constituents for structural and multifunctional bio-based composites. It is fully integrated into the research program of the Bio-Based Industries (BBI) Joint Technology Initiative operating under Horizon 2020, and particularly focused on BBI Value Chains 1 which is dedicated partly to the transformation of lignocellulosic feedstock to advanced bio-based materials. Our project is clearly positioned on the development of composite constituents, based on a renewable resource (i.e. biopolymers and plant fibre reinforcements) for the development of multifunctional biodegradable and/or recyclable bio-based composites with advanced functionalities for applications in transportation (automotive and aerospace) and a high value market niche (acoustic and electronics).
It is dedicated to the development of specific concepts, technologies and materials to achieve a complete value chain and prove the principle at the scale of product demonstrators.

Cancer is a generic term for a group of diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth and spread of cells with abnormal proliferating activity. Most of the anticancer drugs currently used in the clinic trigger DNA damage that ultimately lead to cancer cell death. As an alternative to direct inducer of DNA strand breaks, the non-covalent small-molecule stabilization of alternative nucleic acid structures is emerging as a promising way to create DNA damage. One of such non-B DNA structures is the three-way DNA junction (TWJ) that might fold both upstream and downstream of the replication fork. The stabilization of TWJ by small molecules can result in replication-associated DSB and therefore opens a promising avenue to induce replicative stress in a highly cancer-specific manner. The project STARFISH DNA (for "Stalling the Replication Fork via the Impedimental Stabilization of Higher-order DNAs") aims at identifying a series of compounds capable of creating DNA damage through three-way junction stabilization. Our goal is two-fold, using them to fight against cancers either as standalone therapeutics or in combination with established drugs that disrupt cancer DNA damage response in a synergistic manner. A particular attention will be paid to elucidate the molecular basis of the cellular dysregulations triggered by the most promising TWJ-interacting candidates, to better understand the DNA damage-related cellular events that underlie their anticancer activity.

Principal Investigator: Dr David Monchaud

In order to propose a targeted and efficient treatment of most advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the BioCAIR project proposes to identify new biomarkers of clinical response to immunotherapies and develop innovative imaging diagnostic tools. The consortium is a public-private partnership with skills suitable for molecular imaging studies, from molecular chemistry to preclinical imaging in close vicinity with several hospital clinical departments.