The META-BRAIN consortium recently convened in Barcelona to evaluate the project’s progress and prepare for the upcoming review meeting, scheduled for late January.
In mid-December, 16 members of the META-BRAIN consortium gathered at the headquarters of the coordinating institution, IDIBAPS, to review the achievements and milestones of the project as it approaches its one-year mark. The project’s anniversary falls on January 1, 2025.
Representatives from the project’s partner organizations—Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (along with its institutes, Istituto di Elettronica e di Ingegneria dell’Informazione e delle Telecomunicazioni and Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi), CIBER (Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red), GTEC Medical Engineering, ETH Zurich, Zabala Innovation and IDIBAPS—attended the in-person meeting in Barcelona. The meeting focused on assessing recent developments and finalizing preparations for the first-year review meeting, scheduled for January 28, 2025.
Although the META-BRAIN consortium holds monthly meetings, this in-person gathering was particularly significant as most prior meetings were conducted virtually. The face-to-face format fostered more dynamic discussions, enabling meaningful progress on key issues and enhancing communication among team members.
Consortium members expressed satisfaction with the analysis of the project’s initial phase, noting the achievement of three major milestones. These include the successful fabrication and characterization of materials v1 (nanoarchitectures, microtransistor arrays, and coils for in vitro use) and spatial control of nanostructures distribution. Other tasks are progressing steadily, with numerous experiments underway and objectives being met. The team is optimistic about meeting the expectations of the Project Officer and external reviewers at the upcoming review.
In addition to presenting all the work carried out during this first year of the project, the consortium must also address the challenges it will face during the remaining two years. One of these challenges, as research results begin to emerge, is disseminating findings through scientific publications and presentations at relevant events. The consortium is fully committed to this task, recognizing its growing importance to the European Commission.
To this end, the consortium has recently announced the organization of the “Advanced Nanotechnologies for Precision Brain Interfacing” symposium, which will take place in Ascona, Switzerland from March 31 to April 2, 2025 . The symposium will feature talks by leading researchers in the field, including several members of the META-BRAIN team, providing an excellent opportunity to share the project’s findings with the broader scientific community.
Funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme, the META-BRAIN project aims to achieve precise spatio-temporal control of brain activity using magnetoelectric nanostructures and/or ultrasound. This cutting-edge approach addresses an urgent clinical need for treatments capable of restoring and precisely controlling neuronal activity.
