UCL's European Research and Innovation Office (ERIO) Booklet

EUROPEAN RESEARCH AND INNOVATION OFFICE (ERIO)

Supporting UCL in maintaining its position at the forefront of European and international collaboration in science, technology and innovation science.

Contents

1 Introduction 2 ERIO Proposal Support Service 3 ERIO Project Management Service 4 Success Story: ALIVER + CARBALIVE 6 Success Story: BATCure 8 Success Story: CREATE 10 Success Story: EEC 12 Success Story: FORCEE 14 ERIO in numbers 15 Testimonials

European Research and Innovation Office

1

Introduction

The European Research and Innovation Office (ERIO) is dedicated to assisting UCL in maintaining its position at the forefront of European and international collaboration in science, technology and innovation. It is also passionate about sustaining its place as one of the leading Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) under the EU Framework Programme - Horizon 2020 - the EU’s current 80bn-EUR research and innovation funding programme.

UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top performing organisations, worldwide, under the EU Framework Programmes for research and innovation; it was ranked best performing HEI during the first two years (2014–2016) of Horizon 2020, and has consistently remained within the top three performing HEIs throughout the programme. UCL has participated in over 1000 EU Framework Programme projects, of which more than 400 (equalling ca. EUR 250 million) are funded through Horizon 2020. UCL have also hosted more than 200 prestigious European Research Council grants.

To support UCL in achieving and maintaining its leading position in research and innovation, ensuring proposals meet initial funding requirements to obtain EU funding and subsequently achieve long-term project success and post project impact, ERIO provides a suite of professional pre and post-award services. This includes a niche and comprehensive in-house proposal support service (pre-award) and a dedicated project management service (postaward), thereby supporting UCL academic and research colleagues from project concept phase through project delivery and project close-out.

2

Proposal Support Service ERIO’s proposal support service (pre-award) team aim to improve EU Horizon 2020 collaborative proposals’ chances of success in receiving funding, and subsequently achieve long-term project success and post-project impact.

We offer a comprehensive proposal support service from the project concept stage through to the grant preparation stage (see below for details), to our UCL research and academic colleagues and their European and international collaborators. Our expertise includes: – I nternational (UK, Europe and worldwide), cross-disciplinary, cross-sectoral collaborative proposal (pre-award) coordination; – Research and Innovation project planning and project management; - We specialise in understanding the Horizon 2020 research themes, as well as the EU rules and regulations. This allows us to support coordinators in developing their project idea to align to the Horizon 2020 call (objectives, expected impact and scope), as well develop their innovation management and project management plans (including governance structures, intellectual property management, and budgets).

– I nteracting with a range of stakeholders (academics, clinicians, industry, SMEs, government, regulators, charities, and end-users) to effectively build a comprehensive and strong consortium.

The team have post-graduate qualifications across medical and life sciences, engineering and social sciences.

Proposal Support Services – P roposal Development (comprehensive): Support from the project concept stage through to the grant preparation stage, including analysis and guidance of interpretation of call text and advice on EU regulations; structuring, targeting, providing text/information for, and editing, the Excellence, Impact and Implementation sections; completing the financial sections (collecting and compiling UCL’s and partners’ budgets); obtaining the required administrative information, and aiding in consortium building/partner searches; and submitting the proposal to the European Commission.

– Proposal Review: A mid-development check and editing of the proposal (for relevance to the work programme, formatting and level of completion, management structure and intellectual property matters, costs and general finance) and a final pre-submission check and editing of the proposal (completion, budgets, and submission advice).

UCL ERIO’s proposal support services are available to all Horizon 2020 collaborative proposals in which UCL was involved, as lead organisation or partner organisations.

The above support services can be adapted and tailored on a case-by-case basis, depending on the needs of the coordinators and consortia.

Kimberly has extensive experience in planning and managing complex international, cross-disciplinary, and cross-sectoral collaborative research and innovation projects, in numerous research fields (including health, ICT, energy, climate and environment). She has overseen the successful award and delivery of €150 million in UCL-led EU framework funded research and innovation grants.

Kimberly Cornfield, Head of Proposal Management

European Research and Innovation Office

3

Project Management Service ERIO’s project management service (post-award) team aim to ensure the successful implementation of EU Horizon 2020 projects and facilitate their post-project impact ambitions.

We provide a bespoke project management service, from grant preparation until the project conclusion, to our UCL academic and research colleagues, and their European and international collaborators. We have delivered more than 70 successful European research and innovation framework funded projects, and our expertise includes: – International (UK, Europe and worldwide), cross-disciplinary, collaborative project (post-award) coordination and management;

cross-sectoral

– EU financial, contractual and administrative project management - We specialise in understanding the EU rules and regulations, as well as the Horizon 2020 project management processes. This has resulted in our team developing robust project management processes, procedures and tools (i.e. financial management, risk management, and quality assurance) to facilitate and support efficient project implementation.

– Stakeholder Management - Coordinating complex projects with a range of stakeholders (academics, clinicians, industry, SMEs, government, regulators, charities, and end-users) to ensure the projects are successfully carried out in line with the EU’s rules.

The team have project management certifications and graduate/post-graduate qualifications in European studies, international relations, economics, information systems and computer science.

Project Management Services – Negotiation of the project contract with the European Commission and project set up; – Contractual and procurement management with the relevant parties; – Project monitoring and controlling; – Scope and resource management; – Quality assurance and risk management; – Stakeholder and communication management; – Management and support of the exploitation of Intellectual Property.

Ilaria Marsili, Head of Project Management

Ilaria has several years of experience in offering a wide range of project management services to collaborative European research & innovation projects led by UCL academics and researchers. Ilaria’s team oversees the successful delivery of all UCL led H2020 collaborative projects; currently this portfolio includes more than 30 projects with a total budget of ca. EUR 335M. As Project Manager, she has also extensive experience in planning and delivering complex international collaborative research and innovation projects, across different research fields (e.g. health, climate, policy, environment, energy and ICT). In this role she has been responsible for the delivery more than 20 projects with a total budget of ca. EUR 120M.

4

New hope for patients with liver disease Two European research consortia have developed innovative devices that could save lives and transform futures for patients with deadly liver diseases.

Liver disease is on the rise. It is the fifth most common cause of death in individuals across Europe aged 45-65 years – and an ageing population and surging obesity rates indicate that the number of cases will continue to increase over the coming decade.

Professor Jalan and his team are also planning to test Yaq-001 as a treatment for patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

This condition affects over 10% of the global population, and it is fast becoming the most common cause of cirrhosis.

Liver disease can lead to cirrhosis – a complication that causes the loss of liver cells and irreversible scarring – and also to liver failure. It is estimated that 1% of the global population has cirrhosis, and, at present, there are no treatments to prevent its occurrence or recurrence. As for liver failure, it kills approximately 170,000 patients each year in Europe alone. Currently, the only treatment is liver transplantation, but this is limited by organ availability.

The second research consortium – known as ALIVER, and also led by Professor Jalan – is tackling liver failure by manufacturing a first-of-its-kind liver dialysis machine. Known as DIALIVE, the machine removes circulating toxins, giving the liver time to recover. The hope is that it will reduce the death rate of patients with liver failure, allowing intensive care patients to return home and improving their quality of life. In cases where the liver does not recover, DIALIVE will keep the patient alive until transplantation becomes a viable option.

Two Horizon2020-funded European research consortia – comprising researchers from 20 specialist hospitals – are addressing these challenges head on. One group, known as CARBALIVE, is exploring how bacterial toxins in the intestine impact patients with cirrhosis.

These toxins are dangerous for patients with liver disease because they are easily absorbed into the bloodstream and are transported to the liver and other organs.

The CARBALIVE researchers have developed a novel approach to adsorbing bacterial toxins produced in the intestine, thus preventing them from entering the bloodstream. “Our adsorbent, Yaq-001, is a form of activated charcoal that has been engineered into a device with tiny, spherical carbon beads that flow easily and do not stick to surfaces,” explains Rajiv Jalan, Professor of Hepatology at University College London (UCL) and the project coordinator. “We have generated data in animals that confirms its mechanism of action and clinical trials started in September 2018.”

European Research and Innovation Office

Professor Jalan and his team have developed a spin-off company at UCL, called Yaqrit Ltd, which will develop both Yaq-001 and DIALIVE and take them to market.

The potential future impact of these research projects are vast. The CARBALIVE device could herald a completely new approach for the treatment of both cirrhosis and chronic liver disease, improving the lives of vast numbers of people around the world. As for DIALIVE, if successful in clinical trials, this first-ever liver dialysis machine could greatly reduce mortality and improve quality of life for thousands of people worldwide.

“The hope is that it will reduce the death rate of patients with liver failure”.

5

These projects have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme under grant agreement n. 634579 and 733057

For more information on ALIVER, see http://aliver.info For more information on CARBALIVE, see www.carbalive.eu

6

Battling a rare childhood brain disease Scientists and clinicians across Europe are collaborating to learn more about the biology of Batten disease and use this knowledge to develop unprecedented therapeutic approaches

The BATCure team. Professor Sara Mole is pictured in front, fourth from the left

“The strength of the project lies in the harmonious way the sevencountry team is working together.”

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme under grant agreement n. 666918

For more information on BATCURE see www.batcure.eu European Research and Innovation Office

7

Since it began in January 2016, this 36-month programme has made exciting progress. “We have discovered more about the biology of the disease,” states Sara Mole, Professor of Molecular Cell Biology at University College London (UCL) and the scientific coordinator of BATCure. “Plus, emerging technologies are providing the technical expertise to introduce a healthy gene into cells and screen libraries of thousands of compounds to try to identify some that will offset the effects of this condition.”

Image Credti: BDFA/PER Productions Batten disease is a group of devastating neurodegenerative genetic disorders that affect an estimated 14,000 children worldwide, with around 1,400 new cases diagnosed each year. Patients affected by this debilitating disease experience seizures, visual and speech failure, and a progressive decline in their cognitive and motor abilities.

This leads to a long period of complete dependence on their carers, and eventually to early death.

In recent decades, scientists have made significant progress in both identifying the genes and understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie Batten disease.

However, there is currently no cure. Most treatments available for the 13 forms of this disease are palliative – and so there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutic approaches.

A consortium of scientists and clinicians from seven European countries has come together to address this need. Operating under the Horizon2020-funded BATCure research programme, they are aiming to develop the first ever effective treatment for patients living with three types of Batten disease that are particularly challenging to treat.

Through focused and synergistic action, the researchers will identify specific gene and small molecule treatments for these, including for most prevalent type of Batten disease.

As well as developing new therapeutic approaches, the BATCure researchers are also working on improving and repurposing existing therapies. To achieve this, they are developing new cell and animal models. What they find out using these models is likely to advance understanding of other related disorders (such as adult-onset dementia), enabling scientists to explore new ways of targeting them.

Additionally, the team is exploring improved methods of diagnosis for Batten disease, which will lead to the development of diagnostic tests that can be used to screen patients before they show symptoms and monitor the effectiveness of new therapies.

For Professor Mole, the strength of the project lies in the harmonious way the sevencountry team is working together, and she is excited about the future directions research in this field will take. “The new collaborations that have been established will progress beyond this project, continuing to contribute to disease research,” she states. “What we learn may be applicable to other monogenetic diseases or more complex disorders.”

The extensive scientific data about Batten disease that Professor Mole and her team have generated will soon lead to preparations and funding applications for clinical trials.

The ultimate ambition is to translate the knowledge that the BATCure team has built up into tangible and accessible clinical applications that will improve the quality of life of children and families affected by Batten disease.

8

Tackling urban congestion The CREATE consortium has been working with cities across Europe to help their sustainability efforts and thrive with decreasing levels of car use

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme under grant agreement n. 636573

For more information on CREATE see www.create-mobility.eu European Research and Innovation Office

9

“The project examined how western European capitals have dealt with growing car use and congestion over the last five decades.”

Around a third of all CO2 emissions are produced by transport infrastructure, the majority of which comes from road transport.

Tackling the problem head on is CREATE, an international consortium that offers practical guidelines to cities looking to switch from cars to more sustainable forms of mobility.

One of the first European-funded projects to research and propose long-term solutions to urban congestion, CREATE was carried out over a three-year period by a team of 18 partners: the five western European cities of Berlin, Copenhagen, London, Paris and Vienna; the five eastern European and eastern Mediterranean cities of Adana, Amman, Bucharest, Skopje and Tallinn; research groups from UCL, the Technical University of Dresden and Sciences Po; four private companies – COWI, EIP, INRIX and Vectos – and Eurocities. Together, these partners developed a set of tools and resources to help cities become liveable, thriving places with easy access to the facilities that are important to people.

The project examined how western European capitals have dealt with growing car use and congestion over the last five decades. The research looked at transport trends and the factors influencing car use; the aspects of governance that have enabled or constrained planning; and issues around funding, modelling and assessing traffic schemes.

An evolutionary model emerged from the study, with cities seen to be moving through three stages: a first stage of being a ‘carorientated city’ (providing new roads and parking spaces); a second stage of being a ‘sustainable mobility city’ (by encouraging public transport, cycling and walking); and a third stage focusing on being a ‘city of

places’, which promotes liveability, makes improvements to the built environment, and actively discourages car use.

The project also found that some western European cities had managed to achieve major increases in urban mobility while reducing car use, and, in some cases (e.g.

London), diminishing car ownership as well.

Peter Jones, Professor of Transport and Sustainable Development in the Centre for Transport Studies at UCL, explains: “Berlin is considered the ‘car-sharing capital’ and Vienna has the highest proportion of public transport use in Europe. A rapidly growing ‘stage one’ city like Amman in Jordan can learn a great deal from these stage three cities’ experiences, as well as benefit from access to technologies, such as trip planning apps, that ‘stage three’ cities did not have at their comparable stage”.

The research provides new insights into measuring congestion and network performance, the triggers for change, and different urban transport policy priorities and their consequences. It will also help cities identify and address their future challenges; decide on the best mechanisms for managing mobility; and improve methods for developing investment business models, and more appropriate forecasting and appraisals.

The results of the CREATE research are now being shared through workshops, peerto-peer exchanges and the publication of materials. The aim is for ‘stage one’ cities to short-circuit the evolutionary process and become more liveable and sustainable.

Moreover, the benefit for all cities will come from sharing ideas and working together towards a ‘stage four’ – that of a fullyintegrated, accessible and balanced city.

10

Patient advocates

Cross-border cancer care Through collaboration on two ground-breaking clinical trials, scientists and clinicians across Europe are working together to advance our understanding of Ewing sarcomas.

Ewing sarcomas are rare but fatal bone cancers that affect young people in particular.

Even with treatment, only around 60% of patients survive long-term – a proportion that has remained unchanged for 25 years.

In these patients, chemotherapy is unable to stop the cancer from spreading and fails to treat it when it does spread.

Set up in 2013 and co-ordinated by UCL, the EURO EWING Consortium (EEC) brings together Europe’s most active clinicians and scientists dedicated to improving survival from Ewing sarcomas.

The Consortium has been working on two ground-breaking international trials. The first – Euro Ewing 2012 – is a randomised clinical trial for newly diagnosed tumours that is testing two treatment options. The second – rEECur – is investigating four types European Research and Innovation Office

of chemotherapy for sarcomas that resist treatment or return.

Patients in the trial give consent for blood, tumour and bone-marrow samples to be collected, which are then used by the researchers to look for biomarkers – differences in DNA or other molecules – that indicate which patients are most likely to respond to treatment, experience severe toxicity, or have a better or worse prognosis.

Already, the trial has uncovered a genetic variant that contributes to the formation of Ewing sarcoma. Scientists have also found a way of isolating molecules that might predict neutropenia, a dangerously low level of white blood cells that leaves patients unable to fight off infections. The same method could be used for predicting other toxicities too.

11

“Collaboration is essential as this is a rare cancer, and it wouldn’t be possible to complete a trial in a timely manner if patients were only recruited from one country,” Patients from 14 countries are taking part, and setting up these complex, cross-border trials has been a huge achievement for the Consortium.

“Collaboration is essential as this is a rare cancer, and it wouldn’t be possible to complete a trial in a timely manner if patients were only recruited from one country,” explains Dr Abigail Evans, Scientific Project Manager for the EEC. “We’re delighted that the researchers involved are continuing to work with each other beyond the trials and beyond national or traditional boundaries.”

a new patient advocacy group that has been involved in discussions about trials and grant funding for more research.

Professor Jeremy Whelan, Professor of Cancer Medicine and Consultant Medical Oncologist is proud of the progress they have made. “Ultimately,” he says, “we’re aiming to set a new standard of care for patients across Europe.”

Thanks to that continued collaboration, the Consortium is planning a follow-on trial for Euro Ewing 2012 and will be working with pharmaceutical companies to see whether a new treatment can be added to the rEEcur study. An added benefit of the work has been

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 602856.

For more information on EEC see www.euroewing.eu

EEC partners

12

New directions in female cancer prevention A leading European research consortium is developing an exciting new approach for the screening and prevention of women’s cancers.

The FORCEE consortium at an inaugural meeting

Women’s cancers – breast, cervical, endometrial and ovarian – are common and sometimes deadly. Representing nearly half of all cancers in women, 516,000 new cases are diagnosed across the EU every year, and some have a survival rate of less than 40%.

is straightforward due to the accessibility of cells from the cervix, this is not the case for other cancers affecting women. Accessing cells from breast, endometrial and ovarian tissue requires highly invasive and expensive procedures.

Against this backdrop, cancer prevention is an increasingly important area of research.

One of the best ways to prevent cancer is to examine cells for pre-cancerous changes that indicate whether a woman would benefit from undergoing a preventive procedure.

However, while cervical cancer screening

Leading European research centres are collaborating to tackle this problem by pioneering an entirely new approach to preventing women’s cancers. Under the Horizon 2020-funded FORECEE (Female Cancer Prediction Using Cervical Omics to Individualise Screening and Prevention)

European Research and Innovation Office

13

research programme, additional funding from the cancer research charity The Eve Appeal (eveappeal.org.uk; charity number 1091708), scientists are investigating molecular changes that can predict an individual woman’s risk of developing any one of the four female cancers.

Recent research at UCL indicates that precancerous molecular changes in the tissue of origin also occur in other epithelial tissue. The FORECEE team is looking for these changes in easily accessible cervical epithelial cells with a view to identifying markers that accurately predict the risk of developing any one of the women-specific cancers.

“It is the first time research has looked not just at the genetics of cancer, but also at the influence of environmental and lifestyle factors at a molecular level,” states Martin Widschwendter, Professor in Women’s Cancer and the Lead and Coordinator of the FORECEE programme. “Uniquely, it will enable the impact of all these factors to be examined and used to predict cancer risk.”

By examining cervical cells gathered for smear tests for microbial factors, genetic risk factors and epigenetic risk factors, the researchers will develop tests that can predict the risk of individual women developing certain cancers in the next five to ten years. In parallel, they will develop tools for carrying out large-scale screening programmes and evaluate the costeffectiveness of implementing these tests at a population level. They will also explore women’s attitudes to the individualised tests and conduct in-depth interviews with legal and regulatory advisors from across the EU. Going forward, this ambitious research programme will result in the development of large-scale, cost-effective and populationbased cancer screening programmes for

women. By the time FORECEE comes to an end in August 2019, the intention is that it will lead to a tangible impact on women’s health by enabling clinicians to better predict and prevent deadly female cancers.

“Ultimately,” concludes Professor Widschwendter, “the success of this programme will mean that the results of one simple cervical smear test will identify a woman’s risk of developing any one of the four cancers and direct their individual programme of screening and prevention.”.

“It is the first time research has looked not just at the genetics of cancer, but also at the influence of environmental and lifestyle factors at a molecular level.”

This project has received funding from both the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme under grant agreement n. 634570 and the Eve Appeal (eveappeal.org.uk; charity number 1091708)

For more information on FORECEE see www.forecee.eu

14

ERIO in numbers FP7

40% 34

ERIO’s PSS average success rate is 40%, compared to the European average success rate of 14%

TOTAL FP7 Projects led by UCL

H2020

28

TOTAL H2020 Projects led by UCL

€ 61

Total (FP7 + H2020) Projects led by UCL and managed by ERIO

European Research and Innovation Office

657

No. of Beneficiaries

€335M

Total Projects Budgets

15

Testimonials

“

Working with ERIO has given a real boost to the Library’s project activity’, says Dr Paul Ayris (Pro-Vice-Provost, UCL Library Services). ‘They provide detailed and timely support on all stages of our EU project activity, releasing us to devote ourselves to the academic programme and the achievement of our ambitious project deliverables. They are a joy to work with.’

Dr Paul Ayris (Pro Vice-Provost & Director of UCL Library Services)

“

“

I’ve been delighted with the support I’ve received from the ERIO team. Having an experienced project manager to help coordinate paperwork and meetings and to liaise with the commission saves me so much time and effort. Having just completed a successful mid-term review where I could concentrate on the work rather than the procedure and logistics makes me appreciate the service even more.’

Professor John Mitchell (Vice Dean Education, UCL Engineering)

When writing my EU grant, ERIO played a critical role in clarifying specific H2020 procedures supporting the administrative planning, and they provided an excellent review that supported me to better align the proposal to the call. ERIO have since also supported the post-award phase of my grant demonstrating excellent organisation and communication skills in managing a large consortium of partners across industry and education.

Dr Mina Vasalou (Senior Lecturer Interaction Design)

European Research & Innovation Office 149 Tottenham Court Road Maple House, 7th floor London W1T 7NF Web: ucl.ac.uk/research-services/european-research-innovation-office Twitter: @UCL_ERIO