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Published:3 de November de 2025

RETORNA activities – October 2025

We are slowly reaching the end of the year, but the rhythm of our DCs continues to be fast! Research, training and travels are their main activities, but for sure they are able to find also some free time to relax from the PhD:)

Below we are sharing with all of you the latest news and achievements.

🌟2 years PhD

The celebrations are still ongoing, as most of our PhD students have been hired and enrolled between September and October 2023. It’s been 2 years already since Maria from the Telethon Institute and Claire from University College Cork said yes and signed their 3 years contract, starting in this way their RETORNA journey.

How did it go until now? Well find it by yourself by reading what Claire and Maria have to say about these 2 years: RETORNA | LinkedIn  RETORNA | Instagram RETORNA | Facebook.

🌟Secondments

  •  For Chiara October is the last month of secondment at the new associated partner University of Colorado in Denver, USA under the supervision of prof. Miguel Flores-Bellver.In the meantime her retinal organoids are growing up week by week.
  • Vaishnavi from Leiden University Medical Center is in Tubingen for a short secondment at our partner University of Tubingen.
  • Claire has finished a 1-month secondment with Salutem Insights, gaining a new perspective on health economics and market access in Ireland, while being inspired by the team’s openness, expertise, and enthusiasm.
  • Maria from Telethon Institute flew to Alicante, where is foreseen to work together with the 2 teams from University of Alicante lead by prof. NicolĂĄs Cuenca and prof. Natalia MartĂ­nez Gil.

 

🌟RETORNA networking events

ESGCT Conference in Sevilla

The European Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ESGCT) took place this year in Sevilla, Spain from the 7th until the 10th of October 2025. The conference champions breakthrough research in gene therapy, cell therapy, and genetic vaccines.

Enola, Ceren and Vaishnavi participated, each one presenting also a poster. Check all the posters in the dedicated section of this webpage ->Publications , posters and presentations.

Ceren at ESGCT 2025 Annual Congress
Ceren at ESGCT 2025 Annual Congress

NCPE Symposium

October 16th of October 2025 took place the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE) symposium in Dublin, Ireland. This event brought together different stakeholders, namely the pharmaceutical industry, around timely topics such as the management of chronic diseases, trials in cancer clinical research, and the use of health technology assessments in evolving healthcare systems.

Here is what Claire has to say about this professional experience:” Last October I had the opportunity to attend the NCPE (Irish National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics), taking place in Dublin, as part of my secondment at Salutem Insights. The event brought together different stakeholders, namely the pharmaceutical industry, around timely topics such as the management of chronic diseases, trials in cancer clinical research, and recent developments in the use of health technology assessments in the evolving healthcare landscape. In addition to insightful talks, including from the current Minister of Health in Ireland, Dr. Jennifer Carroll MacNeil, the event fostered networking and fruitful conversations among participants.”

Claire and the Salutem team at NCPE

🌟Engagement activities 

On 11th of October 2025, our DC Yao joined the Stichting Oogfonds Nederland Walk & Ride event together with colleagues from the Radboudumc and Amsterdam UMC.

The event has the aim to raise awareness while raising money for scientific research. It can be considered a sport challenge, but its supreme aim goes beyond this challenge, trying to obtain funds to continue researching while some governments  worldwide are cutting back on research. In these conditions these kind of initiatives are extremly important for the patients.

Yao and her colleagues had the opportunity not only to challenge themselves, speak with the other participants and explain their research, but also get in contact with the patients, hear their needs and remember for who they are doing the research.

Well done team!:)

Oogfonds event
Oogfonds event

 

🌟Third online session on transversal skills: team work and adaptability

After a sessions on  stress response and how to deal with it and one working on objective setting, problem solving and time responsability, on the 30th of October 2025 our DCs focused on team work and adaptability.

The session started with a review of the previous work we had done regarding stress management and our relationship with stress. Each DC was invited then to chose a specific adaptation conflict situation that they were working with and currently experiencing. The trained guided them through the leadership strategy of Colors of Leadership, to have them currently understand their position, and then talked about the need to ’switch’ to another color to be able to tackle the situation from a different mindset and a different set of skills.
There was also encouragement to look further into the STAR FORMAT perspective to use looking at adaptation situations from this lens.
The students went deeper into reflection regarding their part in adaptation, and how when there is a discord, it is necessary to take on a new perspective and lens to reach a solution. We can’t use the same thinking to solve the problem, as the thinking that caused it.

There is a lot to work on and other sessions are planned for the future months, as it’s fundamental to talk about all these concepts and offer students the tools to become a better person and professional.

 

 

Greetings,

RETORNA team

 

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