March 2017
NMR Spectroscopy of Biomolecules
Methods of NMR spectroscopy for the studies of structure and dynamics of proteins and nucleic acids.
Events
CIISB Events Calendar
Important and interesting events in the domain of large research infrastructures
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Slovakia and Montenegro Join ELI as Observers, Expanding European Research Collaboration
Slovakia and Montenegro have joined the Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC (ELI) as Observers, strengthening their participation in European research infrastructures. Their accession broadens ELI’s Member and Observer base and reinforces its role as a platform linking national research communities with large-scale laser facilities across Europe. Slovakia: Connecting national capabilities with large-scale infrastructure Slovakia’s accession formalises a process that has developed since 2021, supported by coordinated efforts across Slovak research institutions and government. As an Observer, Slovak researchers have a structured pathway for participation in ELI’s scientific programmes and governance. “The scope of ELI represents an ideal overlap and extension of Slovakia’s capabilities,” the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic said in a statement. “This connection will open new opportunities for our scientific community and train people for the future.” Slovakia has also strengthened its national coordination, establishing a dedicated unit for research infrastructures within the ministry to support engagement with European initiatives. The country’s participation will focus on integrating its technical expertise in optics, photonics and materials science with ELI’s experimental platforms. Slovak researchers are already active in ELI’s User Programme, with proposals submitted and initial experiments underway. Planned investments will target complementary technologies, including sample preparation, surface analysis and advanced materials characterisation, positioning Slovak facilities as specialised contributors within the wider infrastructure. Montenegro: Expanding collaboration and training opportunities Montenegro enters ELI with an established research ecosystem and participation in European programmes, including Horizon Europe, positioning it to contribute across scientific research, training and technology development. “By joining ELI, Montenegro gains an institutional framework for participation in the work of this infrastructure, access to experiments, training and international projects, as well as the possibility of inclusion in working and advisory bodies,” the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation said in a statement. The decision builds on existing collaboration between ELI and the University of Montenegro, which has included joint research, training programmes and experimental work at ELI’s facilities. That cooperation has developed into a sustained research pipeline, with multiple proposals accepted through ELI’s merit-based user access programme and resulting scientific publications. These activities have resulted in more than 36 weeks of experimental work at ELI’s facilities and 19 scientific publications. Montenegrin students and early-career researchers have also participated in ELI training programmes and summer schools, contributing to experiments and publications while strengthening national expertise in high-energy physics and related disciplines. Future cooperation will expand into strategic areas aligned with ELI’s scientific agenda, including laser- driven radiobiology, Flash-effect based radiotherapy, inertial confinement fusion and radiation-hard technologies for medical and space applications. Participation in European initiatives such as EU Cost action PROBONO and EU research project “EuPRAXIA” is expected to further support these efforts. ELI: New observers bring complementary strengths “Slovakia and Montenegro bring complementary strengths to ELI, from established technical capabilities to highly active research communities,” said Allen Weeks, ELI Director General. “Their participation strengthens the connection between national research systems and large-scale experimental infrastructure. Becoming an Observer in ELI provides a platform for research and training and a network that supports their work.” As Observers, both countries will participate in ELI’s governance and contribute to the development of its scientific and strategic direction.
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8th ELI User Call
The Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) is pleased to announce the opening of the 8th ELI User Call on 17 March 2026. Researchers from around the world are invited to submit proposals for experiments to access ELI’s state-of-the-art instruments and research infrastructure. Proposals will be accepted until 22 April 2026, 12:00 (noon) CEST, and will be evaluated by an international peer-review panel based on scientific excellence. The Call offers access to a wide range of cutting-edge instruments and capabilities at the ELI ALPS (Szeged, Hungary), ELI Beamlines (Dolní Břežany, Czech Republic), and ELI Nuclear Physics (Măgurele, Romania) facilities. The complete offer of available equipment and experimental opportunities is available below, together with guidelines for proposal submission and evaluation. Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss their concepts with instrument scientists early in the process to ensure alignment with facility capabilities. Proposal Submission Deadline: 22 April 2026, 12:00 (noon) CEST
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“Without public trust, it won’t work,” Zdenka Dudová talks about the future of health data
Health data are among the most sensitive – but also among the most valuable – resources for research. How will the emerging European Health Data Space (EHDS) transform researchers’ access to data? What will it mean for Czech institutions? And why is public trust so crucial for the future of health data sharing? We spoke with Zdenka Dudová, who works at Masaryk University on international projects focused on health data and has long been involved in European initiatives such as EHDS2 Pilot, TEHDAS2 and BBMRI-ERIC. She also leads the Sensitive Data Working Group within the EOSC CZ initiative. 13th Mar 2026 Lucie Skřičková Health data are now among the most sensitive yet most valuable resources for research. Why are they becoming such a central topic in European debate right now? The current way health data are handled – especially when it comes to their secondary use for research – is simply not sustainable in the long term. Most hospitals do not have systems that can easily and quickly provide data for research projects. This applies even to the basic ability to share patient data between hospitals. Researchers often receive the requested datasets only after weeks or months of approval processes, manual searching and data preparation – and the data often arrive in varying quality. I know this well from the biobanking environment: if you request clinical data linked to a biological sample, it requires considerable effort from the biobank staff and colleagues across different hospital departments. This issue became particularly visible with the rise of artificial intelligence projects. AI clearly demonstrated the enormous potential of health data – but also how difficult it is to access, protect and integrate them, and how poorly interoperable many datasets still are. Suddenly, the gap between expectations and reality became obvious. Another reason why health data are now receiving so much attention – at least in the EU – is the new regulation establishing the European Health Data Space (EHDS). This builds on earlier initiatives such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Directive on patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare, which already aimed to establish common rules for managing and using personal data. The European Health Data Space promises a major shift in how health data are shared and used. What should researchers working with digital health data – eHealth – imagine in practice? EHDS addresses two different dimensions. The first concerns primary health data – data generated in the context of diagnosing and treating patients. The goal is to ensure that healthcare systems can finally communicate with each other and that patients can easily access their medical records. Ideally, a patient should not have to repeatedly explain their medical history when moving between hospitals. A doctor abroad should quickly access essential medical documentation if a patient seeks treatment while travelling. And countries should finally use compatible data standards – something that often does not even work within a single city today. The second dimension concerns the secondary use of health data for research, innovation and policymaking. Here, EHDS could represent a major shift for researchers. At the European level, a catalogue of datasets suitable for secondary use will be created. Access to these datasets will be transparent and standardized across the EU, with predictable timelines and predefined fees for preparing requested datasets. It will always be possible to see who requested which data and for what purpose. If pseudonymized individual-level data are required, they will not be sent directly to researchers. Instead, they will be processed in Secure Processing Environments, where only aggregated, privacy-safe outputs can be exported. If aggregated statistical data are sufficient, researchers will receive them directly. In my view, this is a promising alternative to the current situation where data are sometimes exchanged via email or where each hospital shares data in a different way. Research teams then spend a lot of time cleaning and restructuring the data before they can use them. EHDS aims to introduce standards that have already been common in research environments for years – but now applied to primary healthcare data Do you think EHDS is also changing the overall culture of working with data in science? Yes, absolutely. Until now, data sharing was often based on personal contacts, different technical solutions and mutual trust between the researcher and the data holder. Data sharing agreements were typically negotiated individually for each project. EHDS introduces standardised rules, transparency and clear documentation of data use. Importantly, it should also make it possible to request multiple datasets from different countries through a single application. Researchers who already have established collaborations can still use existing channels. But for those without personal networks or established partnerships, the EHDS infrastructure will provide a completely new opportunity. At the same time, the understanding of data security is evolving. Previously, it was widely assumed that anonymizing data solved the problem. But modern technologies – especially AI – can sometimes re-identify individuals by combining indirect indicators from different datasets. Within the Open Science II project, where I lead an expert team working on sensitive data management within the National Data Infrastructure, we are testing how robust anonymization techniques are and how to establish rules that ensure real anonymity. You are involved in the TEHDAS2 project, which prepares guidelines for EHDS implementation. What is the biggest challenge in turning the regulation into reality? Interestingly, technology itself is usually not the biggest problem. IT experts are highly motivated to develop the necessary systems. The bigger challenge is whether countries will have the capacity to implement the regulation at the national level. This includes legislative changes, human resources and computing infrastructure. Currently, most EU countries are building Health Data Access Bodies, which will manage access to health data. In the Czech Republic, the discussion has started, but there is still no clear implementation plan. But beyond legislation and technology, the most important factor is public trust. Without public confidence that their data will be handled safely, people will simply not agree to their detailed health information being used for research. Unfortunately, the Czech Republic still has a significant gap here. EHDS is hardly discussed in public. When I lived in Germany in 2023, public debate about health data was already much more active. …read the full article on the EOSC-CZ website…..