TRIAD: Enhancing Synergism on Telomere Function in Health and Disease

Over the years, the EU investments, i.e., ERDF and RRF, have played a crucial role in advancing biomedical research in underperforming EU Member States. However, in competitive research fields, ERDF/RRF-funded labs face significant challenges, including mismatches between regional and European approaches, disparities between Horizon thematic priorities and national/regional smart specialization strategies, as well as variations in funding allocation between consortia and single beneficiaries. The absence of coherent internationalization strategies, limited training programs and skilled personnel, fragmented research endeavors, and funding constraints further hinder the development of sustainable research synergies with leading research institutes. To address this pressing need, we propose TRIAD, a program utilizing the upstream synergy model under pathway A to enhance collaboration among three ERDF-funded labs in Greece, Portugal, and the Czech Republic with a scientific focus on the functional role of telomeres in health and disease. Leveraging ERDF funding, the three research teams have developed complementary expertise in research tools, platforms, and approaches at a regional level. The core objective of TRIAD is to enable the individual ERDF beneficiaries to overcome isolation through cross-border collaboration and successful participation in Horizon Europe calls. This will be achieved through a comprehensive collaborative strategy to share methodologies, an extensive human resources development plan, a set of activities to enhance innovation capacity and improve access to European R&I networks, as well as to increase competitiveness in research funding, and establish effective management and administrative structures on site. We anticipate that this strategy will establish a lasting legacy benefiting ERDF beneficiaries and the wider community by fostering a collaborative ecosystem that will extend well beyond the project's duration.