Work plan

Work has been broken down into 8 work packages (WPs), including those for scientific and administrative coordination & management and exploitation of results. as shown in the Pert Diagramm of BIOCLAIMS.

Pert diagramm
Pert Diagramm of BIOCLAIMS

Three experimental work packages have been created for studies in mice (WP1), rats and hamsters (WP2), and humans (WP3). WP1 and WP2 are essential as animal studies provide the possibility for highly controlled and wider systemic analysis. WP3 is a large work package that concentrates all human studies, which are crucial for biomarker validation. A number of common approaches have been selected for the animal and human studies, including study designs, variables to be measured, and inclusion/exclusion criteria of the human study participants. A high level of resources will be mobilized.

BIOCLAIMS takes thus advantage of the collaborative effort by using the outcomes of different animal and human models to discover novel biomarkers and to test their robustness.

Data collection, storage, modelling and statistical analysis will be performed in a professional concerted action. A major focus will be directed toward cross-validation of analytical methods (WP4), data sharing (WP5), and common evaluation tools to be used among partners from across Europe (WP6). This will be complemented by dissemination and training activities (WP7) and, last but not least, coordination and management (WP8). Integration is key target, as is assembling and harmonisation. Strong and continuous interactions with the European Nutrigenomics Organization (NuGO) Research Network of Excellence and NuGO Association and other international platforms in the field (WP5) will be fostered. Within- and between-partner exchanges of know-how, students and biological material obtained in the different studies will be encouraged and special training courses and joint PhD programmes will be established. WP6 has been created to drive the main end point of identifying and characterising robust biomarkers to serve as a basis for a new generation of nutrigenomics-derived health claims.