Pathways to a Healthy Kansas

Decode the Immunoscience of age-related diseases is sponsored by European Commission — Horizon Europe. Expected Impact: The action under this topic is expected to achieve the following impacts: Accelerate EU access to more cost-effective interventions in an increasingly ageing population by identifying personalised treatment approaches for elderly-onset immune diseases. Decrease disease risk later in life by defining specific prevention strategies based on ageing biomarkers and risk factors. Halt age-associated disease exacerbation by the identification of predictive and digital biomarkers that can stratify patients for early intervention. Improve quality of life for healthy individuals and patients by preventing further health decline, avoiding escalating care costs, and properly stratifying individuals earlier in the diagnostic pathway. Accelerate adoption of innovative diagnostic, preventative, and therapeutic strategies, strengthening the EU’s position as a healthcare innovator. Evaluate digital biomarker as potential regulatory endpoints in the ultimate goal to develop medicines for ‘healthy ageing’. Integrate fragmented research efforts by bringing together health industry sectors and stakeholders to develop clinical and multi-omics data integration capabilities. Enable new data-driven research by building AI infrastructure on existing data and cohorts that no single organisation could develop independently Patients and citizens will benefit from improved medical practice and healthcare solutions, new targeted prevention strategies and ultimately healthier ageing. The action will support EU policy and priorities including the European Health Data Space Regulation (EHDS) and the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, while contributing to European competitiveness in addressing one of society's major challenges. Expected Outcome: The action under this topic must contribute to all of the following outcomes: Researchers will benefit from a better understanding of the potential causal links between chronic inflammatory diseases and biological ageing , and the predictiveness of the accompanying biomarkers could allow for the definition of precise risk profiles for age-associated immune disease onset and exacerbations. Patients will benefit from new early detection strategies as well as new diagnostic approaches to differentiate disease onset in elderly people from onset in younger adults . This will inform a personalised medicine approach to treatment and will in turn help to prevent disease progression. Patients and healthcare professionals will benefit from the repurposing or development of novel therapies for ageing populations with chronic inflammatory diseases and precision medicine approaches that prevent health decline while reducing healthcare costs. Researchers and industry will benefit from the establishment of systematic collaborative approaches for the use of available biobanks across age ranges , immune diseases and comorbidities to adopt innovative approaches (by integration of multi-omics, immunophenotyping, digital biomarkers, ageing clocks, and artificial intelligence (AI) with comprehensive patient information). Patients and healthcare professionals will benefit from deeper insights into treatment response and the evaluation of the impact of ageing on treatment effectiveness. Industry and researchers will benefit from the establishment of regulatory pathways for novel intervention strategies and biomarkers , leading to the faster clinical development of drugs that improve age-associated disease exacerbations, ultimately enabling the translation of research findings into therapeutic solutions for vulnerable patient populations. This includes the field of digital biomarkers and their use in monitoring activity, strength and fatigue as exemplary readouts. Scope: The global population is undergoing an unprecedented demographic shift, with the number of individuals aged 65 and older projected to double by 2050, presenting one of the most significant public health challenges of our time. The transition to an ageing society Programme areas: Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, Health, Innovative Health Initiative, Horizon Europe (HORIZON) Keywords: Artificial intelligence, Biomarkers, Chronic diseases, Immunology, Innate immunity and inflammation, Molecular biology, Decode the Immunoscience of age-related diseases, IHI, IHI JU, Innovative Health Initiative, Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking, Joint Undertaking Deadline stages: 2026-10-08, 2027-04-21

The WKKF Grant is a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation that funds organizations working to create a healthy, equitable world where all children and families can thrive. The Foundation prioritizes work advancing early childhood care and education, expanding maternal and infant health access, promoting food security, and supporting economic pathways for parents and caregivers, with strong emphasis on healing the harms of racism and advancing racial equity. Eligible organizations operate primarily in the United States, with generational commitments to Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, and New Orleans, and internationally in Mexico and Haiti. The Foundation does not fund individuals, capital projects, or political campaigns. Award amounts vary by project scope with typical grants ranging from $100,000 to over $1,000,000. Organizations should submit formal online proposals through the WKKF grantseeker portal.