On 7-8 October 2025, the first-ever COST Connect workshop in collaboration with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) took place in Ispra, Italy. This collaborative event matched COST Actions and JRC researchers working on cancer research, health technologies, biotechnology, disease prevention, and mental health. Participants benefited from behind-the-scenes visits to JRC labs, networking opportunities to explore synergies, insights on science for policy, and the space to discuss common challenges facing their research fields.
What is the Joint Research Centre?
The Joint Research Centre is the European Commission’s science and knowledge service, providing independent, evidence-based science to support EU policymaking. JRC researchers are active in various fields organised into 25 portfolios that support the seven Commission priorities.
Ispra is the largest of the JRC research sites and is also considered one of Europe’s leading research campuses, spanning 170 hectares, featuring 43 of the 56 large research infrastructures of the JRC.
Researchers at the JRC Ispra site work on topics such as sustainable resources, energy, transport, climate, space, security, migration, health and consumer, reference materials, growth and innovation, as well as nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation and nuclear security.
Exploring synergies
COST Actions, clustered into five key research areas focusing on health, presented their projects to JRC researchers, highlighting the objectives of their research networks and the larger issues affecting their research fields.
In turn, COST Actions learned about JRC research in the health sector, ranging from the safety of breast implants to the BioMedical Models Hub BimmoH (an automated database organising information on non-animal models used in biomedical research), the Knowledge Centre on Cancer, and the use of AI in health.
Many common parallels can be found between the nature of COST Actions and the work of the Joint Research Centre. JRC research upholds principles of openness and transparency, values that are fostered within our research networks. Furthermore, COST Actions are by default highly interdisciplinary, and so too is the nature of the collaboration within the Joint Research Centre where multidisciplinary teams work side-by-side, pooling perspectives and starting points in order to maximise benefits and address concerns.
At the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, we firmly believe that the power of science lies not just in its discoveries, but also in the connections it fosters. The simple act of bringing people together to share their knowledge, expertise and passion, is a powerful catalyst for accelerating progress and delivering impact. Our cooperation with COST reflects our shared belief that collaboration is essential in bridging science, policy and society.
Maurice Whelan, Deputy Director for Health and Food at the Joint Research Centre
Cancer
IMMUNO-model
Mediterranean Cancer Screening and Early Diagnosis Network (Medi-CaSE)
Precision-BTC-Network
Net4Brain – Let's beat brain cancer together
Health technologies
SNOOPY – COST Action CA23111 – Searching for Nanostructured or pOre fOrming Peptides for therapY
The mETamaterial foRmalism approach to recognize cAncer (TETRA)
Biotechnology
CorEuStem • COST Action CA20140
InfoGUT | CA23110
Blastocystis under one Health | A COST Action
Disease prevention
Home - BEST-CSP | COST Action CA22107
PRIORITY • COST ACTION CA20101 – Plastics Monitoring Detection Remediation Recovery
ACRYRED • COST Action CA21149 – Reducing Acrylamide Exposure of Consumers by a Cereals Supply-chain Approach Targeting Asparagine
Mental health
Researcher Mental Health
YouthDMH – COST Action CA23153 – Digital Mental Health for Young People
CliMent – COST Action CA23113 – Climate change impacts on mental health in Europe
Visiting JRC infrastructures
Participants visited the Europa Science Experience as well as the JRC Nanobiotechnology Laboratory and the EU Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM) to see first-hand the facilities and work being carried out by the JRC and how it directly feeds into EU policy priorities.
The JRC Nanobiotechnology Laboratory has state-of-the-art facilities for interdisciplinary studies, with a special emphasis on the characterisation of nanomaterials, nanomedicines & therapies, health surveillance technologies, advanced materials, and micro(nano)plastics. Researchers can conduct a range of activities, from experimental proof-of-concept studies to the testing/optimisation of developing technologies.
Meanwhile, the EURL ECVAM, the European Union Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing runs an experimental facility that is engaged in the development, validation and standardisation of in vitro methods. The primary focus of this Facility is on in vitro (cell-based) and in chemico (chemical-based) methods with the aim of demonstrating how non-animal based approaches can reliably provide relevant toxicological and physiochemical property information needed for chemical hazard and risk assessment.
Impressions and network building
Meeting the COST network has been a truly valuable opportunity. I liked a lot to meet such a network of enthusiastic researchers bridging gaps across disciplines and countries. It resonates with our own experience at the JRC Nanobiotechnology Laboratory. Luigi Calzolai, Project Leader at the Joint Research Centre, Ispra
The discussions deepened my understanding of how COST fosters connection, knowledge sharing, and cross-disciplinary collaboration across Europe. Visiting the JRC was an eye-opening experience – I was genuinely amazed by the depth and diversity of research carried out there. This event clearly demonstrated that closer integration between COST and JRC could lead to impactful, long-term scientific partnerships across Europe. Varol Tunali, OneHealthBlastocystis COST Action
The COST Connect event at JRC was extremely valuable for connecting and collaborating with JRC researchers. We explored synergies that create exciting opportunities for future collaboration and look forward to strengthening these connections further. Andreas Balaskas, YouthDMH COST Action
The event was an incredible experience that opened up new perspectives for collaboration. The laboratory visits and discussions provided me with valuable first-hand insight into the work of the JRC. I am confident that this interaction will pave the way for meaningful collaboration between our COST Action Precision-BTC-Network and the JRC. Rocio Macias, Precision-BTC-Network COST Action
The event represents a great platform to share thoughts and identify potential synergies between COST Actions and JRC researchers. The open discussions were highly engaging and offered the opportunity to explore shared research interests and ideas for future joint initiatives. Elisa Camussi, Medi-CaSE COST Action
Research on mental health is of mutual interest to researchers in our COST Action and JRC. This is a topic that needs a lot of attention in Europe to create and maintain healthy societies. We will follow up with JRC researchers to see how we can involve them in our existing projects and develop new ones with them – I think this event was an excellent way to kick-start discussions and align research agendas. Gábor Kismihók, ReMo COST Action
Future collaboration
Numerous COST Actions already include JRC researchers, and based on the foundation of this event, we look forward to ensuring close collaboration between the two communities.
JRC researchers are welcome to become a member of any ongoing COST Action that is of thematic interest. This can be an ad-hoc participation in a COST Action networking activity or in a more formal way by becoming part of a COST Action as a Working Group member. JRC researchers could also be a trainer at a COST Action training school or host a researcher on a short-term scientific mission at one of the JRC sites.
Synergies were also identified by both sets of participants, such as promoting the use of the JRC’s open data and digital infrastructures to the COST Action community and complementary communications initiatives like surveys, data gathering, and awareness-raising campaigns.
Additional information
Learn more about the Joint Research Centre
Learn more about science for policy at COST
Read more about the COST-JRC Memorandum of Understanding