19 May Progress Meeting in Cambridge
Without realizing it, one year has passed since our last annual physical meeting in Sweden. On May 11th, members of the GUTVIBRATIONS consortium finally gathered again (in person) for the annual progress meeting to discuss all the progress that has been made within the project and milestones that should be achieved in the upcoming future. This year, we decided to have our progress meeting in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom!
Encouraging green traveling
As a consortium, we recognize that we have a role in reducing our carbon footprint. Therefore, we encouraged our members to travel to Cambridge by train for journeys less than 8 hours.
We were delighted to know that this effort has already been practiced by some of our members. On the 9th of May, Adithya Sridhar and Joep Korsten (our members from Amsterdam UMC) traveled together with Carlemi Calitz on the Eurostar train from Amsterdam Central Station. “I enjoyed the train ride from Amsterdam to London. It was comfortable and I was also able to get some work done while on the train” said our Scientific Manager, Adithya Sridhar.
Joep Kosten & Adithya Sridhar
The following day, Dasja Pajkrt and Katja Wolthers, coordinators of the GUTVIBRATIONS consortium traveled together from Amsterdam Central Station. As seen in the picture below, they were also able to sit comfortably and work whilst on the train.
Lunch & Progress Meeting
On the 11th, our members were welcomed at the STEMCELL Technologies building with lunch, coffee and tea. During lunch, our members were able to catch up with one another while enjoying a nice sandwich or a plate of fruits. Afterwards, leaders of the active work packages (Work Package 3, 4, 8, 9 and 10) presented the progress made within their work packages to other members of the consortium.
We were also delighted to see the progress that have been made in our project, mainly the development of the gut epithelial model and PSC-derived astrocytes, microglia, pericytes and brain endothelial cells, which are the foundation for the gut-brain axis organ-on-chip that we are developing within the GUTVIBRATIONS project.
Punting in River Cam
A trip to Cambridge would not be complete without punting! This is the reason why our partner, Salvatore Simmini (STEMCELL Technologies) led us to the dock by River Cam for our post-meeting social activity. There, two punts awaited us, each punt being managed by a local guide who provided us with the history of the buildings in Cambridge.
Dinner
We ended the night on the 11th with a dinner at Jesus College, one of the many colleges situated in the charming student city. Upon entering the campus grounds, our members were greeted by the staff of the college and were led to the Prioress’s Room.
Several menu cards were printed and placed on the U-shaped dining table. Written on the menu (click to see our menu!) were the three courses that the talented chef of Jesus College will serve.
As the night passed, each course within the dinner was served to our consortium members. As we closed the night of our annual progress meeting, we raised our glass and cheered to all of the progress that we have made within our project.
