Mac4Me project kicks off with a meeting in Rotterdam and the first doctoral training session

The European doctoral network Mac4Me (Macrophage Targets for Metastatic Treatment) has officially commenced its action with a successful kick-off meeting held in Rotterdam on June 25-26, 2025. The event, organized by the Erasmus University Medical Center (the project coordinator), brought together the project’s core partners to harmonize efforts and set the stage for the next four years of research. Prior to this, on June 23-25, the first training session for the network’s doctoral candidates took place, marking the beginning of their educational journey.
Mac4Me is a 48-month initiative that tackles both scientific and societal challenges associated with cancer metastasis. The project focuses on three cancer types — neuroblastoma, breast cancer, and prostate cancer — known for their limited response to current immunotherapies and their tendency to metastasize to the brain, bone, and liver. By examining how tumour cells invade healthy tissues, Mac4Me aims to develop new strategies for understanding and treating metastatic disease.
Mac4Me goes beyond technical expertise, striving to ensure each doctoral candidate has the tools to flourish both professionally and personally. This commitment was evident in the first training, which covered clinical aspects and requirements related to the three metastatic cancer types Mac4Me is focusing on. Besides advanced scientific methodologies, including single-cell mechanics and organ-on-chip technology, the students gained insights into fundamental biological mechanisms such as tumour formation, immune evasion, and DNA repair deficiency in age-related diseases. The training also explored the ethics of cancer research and included an activity where the communication team produced short introductory videos of each doctoral candidate for the website. A significant part of the training focused on Patient and Public Involvement in Research (PPI). This session, led by patient advocates from Dublin and the US, fostered an immediate connection with the doctoral candidates, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and direct patient engagement at every step in the research process. A profound mutual interest in the project’s success was shared.
With nearly all doctoral candidates and principal investigators meeting in person for the very first time, the training and the meeting were marked by a palpable spirit of eagerness and enjoyment. This first gathering fostered strong team-building among the doctoral candidates and the different subprojects, laying a crucial foundation for their scientific and technical collaboration. The meeting proved to be a success in promoting the exchange of expertise and significantly strengthening networking opportunities, thereby setting a precedent for ongoing collaboration.

Mac4Me is a Horizon Europe MSCA (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions) Doctoral Network. The project is led by a core consortium of 14 partners and supported by an additional 11 associated partners. This extensive international network comprises universities, companies, patient associations, scientific associations, and foundations from European countries (Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom) and beyond (Australia, USA). The partnership brings together experts from multiple disciplines, including basic science, biomedical engineering, translational research, social sciences, and computational biology.