OneTick, an international research initiative coordinated by the Medical University of Bialystok, the aim of which is to combat tick-borne diseases in urban and suburban environments, has received funding from the EU's MSCA Staff Exchanges 2024 programme.
The project will be carried out by thirteen partners from ten countries, and the Białystok university is the only partner from Poland.
According to the Medical University of Bialystok representatives, a total of 329 applications were submitted in the competition and the European Commission selected 83 for funding. Among them is a project with the participation of Poles: 'OneTick: An Integrated One Health Approach for Prevention, Detection and Treatment of Tick-Borne Diseases in Urban and Peri-Urban Environments'.
OneTick will study tick-borne diseases from the perspective of the 'One Health' approach, combining human, animal and environmental factors. The researchers want to develop a model showing how climate change affects the distribution of ticks in urban and peri-urban areas, such as parks, gardens and playgrounds, in order to improve risk prediction and develop more effective control strategies.
One of the goals of the initiative is to support the development of a common European framework for the diagnosis, reporting and management of tick-borne diseases.
In addition to the Medical University of Bialystok, the consortium members are: tick-radar GmbH (Germany), Fundación Rioja Salud (Spain), Södertörns högskola (Sweden), Rigshospitalet (Denmark), Freie Universitaet Berlin (Germany), Universitatea de Științe Agricole și Medicină Veterinară (USAMV) Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Region Jönköping (Sweden), Sørlandet sykehus HF (Norway), Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM) (The Netherlands), Biologické centrum AV ČR (Czech Republic), as well as associated partners: Pfizer Corporation Austria (Austria) and San Pedro University Hospital (Spain).
MSCA Staff Exchanges (full name: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions - Staff Exchanges) is funded under the EU's Horizon Europe programme. It aims to support international, cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary exchange of staff involved in research and innovation, which serves the transfer of knowledge and competences, and building long-term relationships between academic and non-academic institutions.
Katarzyna Czechowicz (PAP)
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