Summary
- Profile Type
- Research & Development Request
- POD Reference
- RDRNL20260819023
- Term of Validity
- 19 August 2026 - 19 August 2027
- Company's Country
- Netherlands
- Type of partnership
- Research and development cooperation agreement
- Targeted Countries
- All countries
General information
- Short Summary
- A university-based regenerative medicine research institute in the Netherlands is preparing a Horizon Europe EIC Pathfinder Challenge application (Biotechnology for Healthy Ageing, non-animal model track) to develop an iPSC-derived brain ageing screening platform. A full consortium partner is sought with expertise in in vivo natural ageing animal models and senescence marker analysis in brain and gut tissue, to benchmark the new platform.
- Full Description
-
This research institute seeks a partner to join their consortium application for the Horizon Europe European Innovation Council (EIC) Pathfinder Challenge "Biotechnology for Healthy Ageingt" (deadline: 28 October 2026), specifically its non-animal model (NAM) track, an approach aimed at reducing reliance on live-animal testing. The Dutch institute are coordinator in this consortium.
The project aims to build a laboratory model of brain ageing that uses induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived models of the brain and gut, artificially aged through a process called replicative exhaustion (repeated cell division until cells reach their natural limit), to create a human-specific screening platform for studying ageing and testing potential treatments.
To confirm that this new laboratory model accurately reflects real biological ageing, the project needs to compare it, or benchmark it, against a recognised in vivo (animal) model of natural ageing, such as aged rats.
A partner is sought with a documented track record in in vivo models of natural ageing, such as aged rats, and with such an animal model readily available in-house for use in the project. The partner should also be able to analyse senescence-associated markers - biological indicators of cellular ageing - in brain and gut tissue from the animal model. The partner is expected to join as a full consortium member and active research collaborator, rather than as a subcontracted service provider. - Technical Specification or Expertise Sought
- A full consortium partner is sought with expertise in in vivo natural ageing animal models (e.g. rats) and senescence marker analysis to benchmark the new platform.
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being
Partner Sought
- Expected Role of a Partner
-
The partner sought is expected to act as a full consortium member, not a service provider, actively contributing scientific expertise and hands-on laboratory work to the project's ageing-research strand.
Specific tasks expected of the partner include: providing access to, and expertise in, an established in vivo animal model of natural ageing, such as aged rats, already available and maintained in the partner's own laboratory; contributing this model as the benchmark against which the consortium's newly developed human-specific, iPSC-derived brain ageing model will be validated; performing analysis of senescence-associated markers in brain and gut tissue obtained from the in vivo animal model; collaborating with the coordinating team on interpreting results and ensuring comparability between the animal model data and the in vitro, human-based data generated by the consortium; and participating actively in consortium meetings, joint reporting, and potentially in the proposal-writing phase of the EIC Pathfinder Challenge submission.
Desired field of activity: gerontology, ageing biology, in vivo pharmacology or toxicology, or comparable animal-model-based life sciences research, ideally within an academic institution, research institute, or contract research organisation with an operational and ethically approved aged-rodent (or comparable) animal facility.
Other expectations: The partner should be comfortable working in an exploratory research environment and able to commit resources and time for the duration of the project (~ 4 years). - Type and Size of Partner
- SME <=10
- University
- SME 50 - 249
- R&D Institution
- SME 11-49
- Type of partnership
- Research and development cooperation agreement
Call details
- Framework program
- Horizon Europe
- Call title and identifier
-
Biotechnology for Healthy Ageing
- Submission and evaluation scheme
-
Single stage
- Anticipated project budget
-
4 million
- Coordinator required
-
No
- Deadline for EoI
- Deadline of the call
- Web link to the call
- https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-funding-opportunities/eic-pathfinder/eic-pathfinder-challenges-2026_en#biotechnology-for-healthy-ageing
- Horizon Europe
Dissemination
- Market keywords
- 05001001 - Diagnostic services
- 05001002 - In-vitro diagnostics
- Sector Groups Involved
- Health
- Targeted countries
- All countries