2.5 million EUR for the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Olsztyn for the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in the field of nutrigenomics.

The Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Olsztyn won 2.5 million EUR in the ERA Chairs H2020 program for the implementation of the 6-year project „Welcoming ERA Chair to Centre of Excellence in nutrigenomics for optimizing health and well-being”, acronym: WELCOME2. Its goal is to establish an interdisciplinary centre of excellence at the Institute in research using nutrigenomic tools to assess the impact of nutrition on the genetic predisposition to the so-called diet-related diseases.
The basis for this action will be the employment of a world-class scientist and science manager, and the establishment of a new research group that will also take part in innovative mentoring scheme at the interdisciplinary Doctoral School of Agricultural Sciences, run by IARFR PAS together with the Institute of Agrophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Lublin and the PBI State Veterinary Institute in Pulawy.

The project is a way to strengthen the integration of research conducted in both Departments of the Institute, Department of Food Sciences and Department of Reproductive Biology. To some extent, it is a continuation of the project we received from the WELCOME program of the Polish Science Foundation, which initially resulted in such integration as an unpredictable result. Hence the name WELCOME2 – says prof. dr hab. Mariusz K. Piskuła, Director of IARFR PAS and project coordinator.

IARFR PAS is one of 2 Polish, among 20 European, laureates to receive this prestigious grant in 2020. Its implementation will allow the Institute to carry out costly structural changes leading to the creation of research work conditions in an international environment, in line with the standards expected in the European Research Area. It will also significantly strengthen the advantage of the Institute in the perspective of the Horizon Europe framework program.

WELCOME2 will allow us to increase Institute’s recognition and attractiveness, and thus develop the already existing strategic partnership with leading research centers in Europe, and become a desirable member of international research consortia. These processes will be additionally supported by such activities in the field of open science as the wide sharing of scientific research results as part of the „Science as public good” action or the establishment of the „Rising Managers Academy” to prepare future science leaders – adds prof. Piskuła.

Projects from the ERA Chairs program are also designed to influence the development of the region in which they are implemented, both in the field of management and research, as well as increasing their applicability and innovation. In the history of the ERA Chairs program, a total of 7 projects went to Poland.