The Hellenic Network of Molecular Oncology (EDIMO) received funding approval of 4 million euros from the Recovery and Resilience Fund. EDIMO, which is an initiative of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of the Technology and Research Foundation (ITE), was established in June 2022 and operates under the supervision of the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation of the Ministry of Development and Investments.

The purpose of the network is the coordination of Greek university and research institutions which are active in cutting-edge research in the field of health, molecular oncology and precision medicine.

More specifically, the network aspires to contribute to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer on the one hand, and on the other to the development of new techniques for better detection of tumors and the adaptation of health services to the personalization of prevention and care of oncological patients.

The coordinator of the network is the ITE, led by the president of the Foundation and professor of the School of Medicine of the University of Crete, Nektarios Tavernarakis, and the scientific manager is Professor Konstantinos Stratakis, a clinical geneticist and director of genetics and precision medicine research.

The network includes the ITE, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the National Research Center for Natural Sciences “Demokritos”, the Hellenic Pasteur Institute, the Research Center for Biomedical Sciences “Alexander Flemig”, the University of Thessaly, the University of Crete and the University of Patras, offering molecular oncology biomarker analysis services to patients with hematological or solid neoplasms. At the same time, within the framework of EDIMO, a digital database is being created, which will link the detection of biomarkers with the clinical data of the samples.

The Deputy Minister of Development and Investments, Dr. Christos Dimas, stated among other things that “the contribution of the Recovery and Resilience Fund is decisive for the proper functioning of EDIMO, in order to deliver excellent research results and services” while the Secretary General of Research and Innovation, Professor Athanasios Kyriazis expressed his support for the project and the certainty that it will be crowned with success.

The president of ITE and coordinator of EDIMO, Professor Nektarios Tavernarakis, noted, among other things, that “the launch of EDIMO comes to be added to a series of emblematic actions of Precision Medicine, in which ITE has an active and founding role” adding that “the participation of ITE, as the coordinating body of EDIMO, is the culmination of a continuous and multi-year effort in the field of precision medicine and another important development step for the Foundation, which contributes catalytically to the strengthening of Greece’s position on the global map of personalized medicine”.

In addition, Mr. Tavernarakis stated that the extensive experience and high specialization of the network’s highly qualified human resources provide the guarantees that this new network will be a point of reference in our country’s path towards the medicine of the future. “The establishment of the new network in conjunction with the recent establishment of the Hellenic Institute of Human Genomics at the ITE, are pivotal developments for the field of biomedical sciences in Greece, simultaneously creating extensive synergies with leading research and academic institutions in Greece and abroad” he added Mr. Tanernarakis, pointing out that the offered services and personalized medicine approaches will upgrade healthcare in our country, as they will offer patients more effective treatment and timely implementation of appropriate prevention.

On the occasion of the financing of EDIMO, the scientific manager of the network, Professor Konstantinos Stratakis, stated that “the ultimate goal of EDIMO is for every patient of this country to have access, immediately and without financial burden, to the best possible personalized treatment based on international scientific standards” while he added that it is everyone’s wish that in the future “by attracting new resources to continue this important initiative, all the oncology clinics and research and academic institutions of the country will join the network, so that research activity and utilization can be promoted more widely of infrastructures and knowledge, which are created in the context of EDIMO”.