EKIDNA officially kicks off

The EKIDNA project has officially begun. The Kickoff Meeting, held at our Institute for Biomedicine, brought together all project partners and marked the start of a new cross-border collaboration involving the Università degli Studi di Udine and the Medizinische Universität Innsbruck.

EKIDNA aims to develop an integrated platform that connects scientists and citizens to advance knowledge in DNA research for human health. By combining cutting-edge genomics with educational approaches, the project seeks to make complex scientific topics more accessible and relevant, while at the same time promoting active participation from society.

A distinctive feature of EKIDNA is its strong focus on engagement with high-school students, who will be involved as active contributors within a citizen science framework. The project adopts chronic kidney disease (CKD) as a real-world case study, providing a concrete context in which to explore genomic research and its implications for health. On the scientific side, EKIDNA will work on the development of a genomic platform, integrating different levels of analysis—from meta-analysis to post-GWAS approaches, and including functional follow-up. In parallel, a series of hands-on activities will be designed to support the understanding of genomics among young participants and the broader public, fostering dialogue between research and society.

During the kickoff meeting, partners presented the overall motivation, structure and objectives of the project, and shared initial plans for the activities that will be implemented in the three involved regions: South Tyrol, Tirol and Friuli Venezia Giulia. The discussion highlighted both the scientific ambition of the project and its collaborative and interdisciplinary nature.

With a motivated consortium and a clear roadmap ahead the project now enters its operational phase, with partners working together to translate these goals into concrete actions across the three territories.