LipidBRIGHT officially kicks off!

On 13–14 July 2026, the LipidBRIGHT consortium gathered at the Lufthansa Seeheim Conference Hotel near Frankfurt Airport for the official kick-off meeting of our MSCA Doctoral Network. The hybrid event brought together partners from across Europe to launch a project set to run until 2030: uncovering how lipids act as a bridge between disease insight and improved therapy.

A truly European network

Representatives from all beneficiary institutions were present — Maastricht University (coordinator), KU Leuven, Hasselt University, Universitätsklinikum Jena, Utrecht University, SciCross AB, and RD Néphrologie SAS — alongside colleagues from associated partner Universitätsklinikum Aachen. The network's three external Supervisory Board members also joined in person, underlining the strong scientific guidance behind the project.

Setting the scientific stage

Day one was dedicated to the science: supervisors introduced the ten doctoral candidate research projects that will form the beating heart of LipidBRIGHT over the coming years, spanning lipidomics, cardiovascular disease, cancer, kidney disease, and neuro-inflammation. Three of our external Supervisory Board members also presented their own related research, sparking lively discussion around the shared theme of lipids and disease.

Building the network's foundations

Day two turned to the practicalities of running a successful Doctoral Network: EU reporting obligations, training strategy, and dissemination and outreach plans were all discussed. A particularly valuable session saw representatives from two sister MSCA Doctoral Networks — CaReSyAn and PROSTAMET — share hard-won lessons from their own experience, helping LipidBRIGHT hit the ground running.

What's next

With the consortium launched and its governance structures — including the Supervisory Board — fully in place, LipidBRIGHT is now moving into its recruitment phase for the doctoral candidates who will drive the project's research forward.

Follow our journey and stay up to date with project news on LinkedIn.