RETORNA activities – January 2025

🌟RETORNA Consortium is celebrating its first 2 years!!!

On February 1st 2023, the RETORNA project embarked on a challenging research mission in the field of retinal diseases.

As we celebrate the project’s two-years anniversary, it’s a perfect time to reflect on the remarkable journey and achievements that have marked this period. From groundbreaking research to impactful public engagement, the RETORNA project has made significant strides in its objective to combat retinal diseases and improve the lives of those affected.

In this article we want to highlight the key milestones and events that have defined the project’s first two years, showcasing the dedication and innovation of the team behind it:

🌟 Nathalie at LUMC

The new 2025 couldn’t begin more professional for our DC3 – Nathalie. She decided to jump right into her first long secondment by joining prof. Jan Wijnholds’ laboratory already from the first days of January 2025.

She will be staying there for 2 months, improving her laboratory skills and techniques thanks to the expertise of prof. Wijnholds on aptamers and the Tornado system, among others.

 

🌟 1 year PhD for Chiara

On the 23rd of January 2024 Chiara started oficially her experience as DC10 in the RETORNA programme under the supervision of prof. Javier Sancho Pelluz and co-supervised by prof. Maria Oltra Sanchis. Originally from Rome, Italy, Chiara  was searching for a more international experience when she decided to apply for the RETORNA programme.

She reflected on these last 12 months and this is what she thinks about it:

“The most challenging year of my life has just passed, but perhaps also the most beautiful, and certainly the one that made me grow the most. But in the end that’s what PhD is all about, you fail, you fall, you get back up, and when you finally get that result you worked so hard for, you realise it was worth it, and you are ready to do it all over again with the next goal.
But this year was not only characterised by challenges.
Thanks to the MSCA RETORNA program I had the chance to attend prestigious conferences around the world, meet top scientists and feel at home in another country.
Because doing a PhD is also about that, meeting people, networking and building your personal network that helps you not to fall down in difficult times.”

🌟Online training session on Inherited Retinal Diseases

The Doctoral Candidates met again online for the second online training session. This session was organized by prof. Sandro Banfi, principal investigador at Fondazione Telethon and supervisor of Maria – DC9. The focus of these 2 hours training was  “The molecular diagnosis of inherited retinal diseases“.

Prof. Sandro Banfi shared with the students his experience and knowledge in the field of inherited retinal diseases, focusing on retinisis pigmentosa but not only, analyzing topics such as sequencing and novel IRD genes.

This training is part of a series of online sessions initiated by the Consortium to address the needs expressed by the Doctoral Candidates during the first summer school and coherent with the training programme already decided in the Grant Agreement.

 

🌟Online session on empowering careers

organized an online webinar in which Dr. Serdar Durdagi, PI in the RETORNA project and formed  MSCA fellow offered his personal experience, providing valuable insights and tips to support PhD students’ journey! 💼

During the session, Prof. Dr. Serdar Durdağı shared how the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions MSCA fellowship has influenced his career. He also offered advice on overcoming challenges and enhancing collaborations while pursuing new career paths.

🗓️ Date: January 31st, 2025
⏰ Time: 15:00-16:00 CET

Registration link: https://lnkd.in/e-YNDhkU

online session Serdar Durdagi 31 01 2025

 

 

 

Greetings,

RETORNA team