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UPGRADE Kick-Off Meeting, Milan

The UPGRADE (Unlocking Precision Gene Therapy)  kick-off meeting (KOM) was held on 1 March, 2019 at the SR-TIGET facilities in Milan. Around 35 participants representing 6 European Countries attended the meeting.
During the meeting all issues related to the implementation, management, dissemination, finance and technicalities of the UPGRADE project were presented and discussed. The participants mostly focused on the research approaches to be used, specifications of materials and methods, requirements of end users and industrial scenarios for the implementation of the project results.

Group picture of participants at the UPGRADE KOM meeting (Milan, 1st March 2019)

During this two-days event, a series of presentations and open discussions were performed involving all partners present. All partners introduced themselves and their rule within UPGRADE, and the Project Management Team had the opportunity to present the project management procedures and the dissemination tools. Beyond groups meetings and focussed discussions, during the KoM there were also occasions for networking, which contributed to a good interaction and exchange of opinions among partners for the next steps to take in support of UPGRADE actions implementation and success.

Agenda

28th February, 2019

15.00 – 15.30 Welcome and Introduction – Luigi Naldini
15.30 – 16.20 WP1. Novel strategies to increase precision and efficacy of gene and epigenetic editing
Work package 1 introduction – Anna Cereseto
UNITN presentation – Anna Cereseto
TUD presentation – Frank Buchholz
Discussion
16.20 – 16.55 WP2. Retargeting gene/vector integration
Work package 2 introduction – Marc Guell
UPFa presentation – Marc Guell
Discussion
16.55 – 17.35 Coffee break
17.35 – 18.10 WP3. Genome-wide off-target profiling of gene-editing reagents
Work package 3 introduction – Keith Joung
MGH presentation – Keith Joung
Discussion
18.10 – 18.45 WP4. Viral and non-viral mediated delivery of genes and genome engineering components
Work package 4 introduction – Ernst Wagner
LMU presentation – Ernst Wagner
Discussion
19.00 Dinner

1st March, 2019

9.00 – 9.35 WP5. Increase immune evasion of genome engineering components
Work package 5 introduction – Oumeya Adjali
UN Nantes presentation – Oumeya Adjali and Ignacio Anegon
Discussion
9.35 – 10.10 WP6. Advanced Genetic Engineering of Hematopoiesis
Work package 6 introduction – Luigi Naldini
FTELEa presentation – Luigi Naldini
Discussion
10.10 – 11.10 WP9. Expanding the breadth of liver-directed gene therapy to include larger patient populations
Work package 9 introduction – Angelo Lombardo
FTELEb presentation – Angelo Lombardo, Alessio Cantore, Alberto Auricchio and Manel LLado
Discussion
11.10 – 11.30 Coffee break
11.30 – 12.20 WP7. Novel strategies to target skeletal and cardiac muscle wasting in aging and disease conditions
Work package 7 introduction – Pura Muñoz
UPFb presentation – Pura Muñoz
VUB presentation – Thierry VandenDriessche
Discussion
12.20 – 12.55 WP8. Retinal degenerations
Work package 8 introduction – Alberto Auricchio
FTELEc presentation – Alberto Auricchio and Manel LLado
Discussion
12.55 – 14.00 Light lunch
14.00 – 14.30 WP10 & WP11. Management and Scientific coordination & Communication, stakeholders engagement, dissemination and exploitation
Graciana Diez-Roux and Marianna Mea
14.30 – 15.00 Closing remarks – Luigi Naldini
15.30 Plenary Lecture: Professor Keith Joung
Defining and Minimizing the Off-Target Effects of CRISPR Nucleases and Base Editors

All the presentations will be soon available in the Partners’Area.

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