Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme ever with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020) – in addition to the private investment that this money will attract. It promises more breakthroughs, discoveries and world-firsts by taking great ideas from the lab to the market. By coupling research and innovation, Horizon 2020 is helping to achieve this with its emphasis on excellent science, industrial leadership and tackling societal challenges. The goal is to ensure Europe produces world-class science, removes barriers to innovation and makes it easier for the public and private sectors to work together in delivering innovation.

Horizon 2020 is open to everyone, with a simple structure that reduces red tape and time so participants can focus on what is really important. This approach makes sure new projects get off the ground quickly – and achieve results faster.

Epoka University is a full partner in the Horizon 2020 project titled: “PANBioRA-Personalized and/or Non-specific Biomaterial Risk Assessment via a fully integrated instrument”

The project aim is about development of an instrument that can assess the biosafety of a new material or compatibility of an established material with a given patient (personalized pre-implantation diagnostics). This will be achieved by testing antibody reactions, determination of degradation/wear products, the real-time interaction of the biomaterial with relevant cell types and organoid-based micro tissues where all the interactions are monitored by integrated microscopes, electrochemical sensors and antibody based detection. This information then be fed into mathematical models developed using reference materials to give the end-user a risk assessment in a rating or ranking system.

The EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation will be complemented by further measures to complete and further develop the European Research Area. These measures will aim at breaking down barriers to create a genuine single market for knowledge, research and innovation.