On 21-23 August, the WELCOME2 ERA Chair Advisory Board met at the Wierzba House of Creative Work and the PAS Research Station in Popielno.
During a two-day session, the work done since the beginning of the project by individual work package teams involved was summarized, and goals for the future were outlined. More importantly, it was also an opportunity for Professor Carsten Carlberg to introduce the Advisory Board members to his team, which has been formed over the past year.
The two-day meeting of the Advisory Board was attended by 28 people involved in the development and support of the project’s activities. Professor Peter van Bladeren, Chairman of WELCOME2 Advisory Board, started the first day of the conference. After welcoming the guests, he gave the floor to Prof. Mariusz Piskuła, project coordinator and director of the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, who acknowledged those in attendance and presented the agenda for the meeting.
The meeting started with a “tour the table” session where all members of the Advisory Board and WELCOME2 team had a chance to properly present themselves. Professor Christine Morand, Human Nutrition Unit Director of INRAE (France); professor Wiesław Oleszek, Director of the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation in Puławy (Poland); professor Andrzej Babuchowski, President of the Dairy Innovation Institute (Poland); professor Romuald Zabielski, Vice President of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland); professor Emily Sonestedt, Leader of the Lund University Research Group (Sweden); professor Agata Chmurzyńska, Head of the Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Poznań University of Life Sciences (Poland); professor Tomasz K. Wojdacz, Head of the Independent Clinical Epigenetics Laboratory of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin (Poland); Anna Śliwińska, President of the Polish Diabetes Association; Karolina Biel, Innovation Project Specialist at the Maspex Group (Poland); Dariusz Blasi-Rzeczkowski from the Marshal’s Office of the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship (Poland); as well as scientists and members of the WELCOME2 team from the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research PAS.
The conference was divided into two main sessions – the first discussed progress towards the WELCOME2 goals, and the second was organised as a subgroup workshop, where the AB members were introduced to the present and future strategic projects of the WELCOME2, and had the opportunity to work on the development of the project’s cooperation, communication and organisation strategies.
The first day of the session was rounded off with a visit to the Popielno Research Station, which is a unit belonging to the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Olsztyn since 1 January 2016. Activities carried out at the Research Station aim to protect biodiversity by breeding animals of conservation breeds (Polish Konik, Polish Red and Lowland Black and White cattle), as well as education and promoting an active lifestyle.
The second day of the conference was focused on a summary of the work in the sub-groups and recommendations for the future. Attention was drawn to the visibility of the project through the organisation of different kind of events, as well as the launch of the project’s social media channels. Project plans were summarised and recommendations for applying for external funding were discussed, as well as the work of the whole nutrigenomics team.
The second meeting of the WELCOME2 ERA Chair Advisory Board was attended by scientists, representatives of business, the local government of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, the authorities of the Polish Academy of Sciences and healthcare organisations. The next meeting of the WELCOME2 ERA Chair Advisory Board will be held in the third quarter of 2024.
