Babeş-Bolyai University joins elite European network for developing superbug vaccines

Babeş-Bolyai University (UBB) in Cluj-Napoca has become a partner in one of the most competitive European doctoral training networks, EVADERE, funded by the Marie Sk³odowska-Curie Actions program, a project aimed at developing vaccines against highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

According to the university, antimicrobial resistance is considered one of the biggest global health threats, and the EVADERE network aims to identify new molecular "targets" capable of triggering an effective immune response.

• Artificial intelligence and molecular modeling

The project uses advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence and molecular modeling, to discover new epitopes - fragments of bacterial proteins recognized by the immune system. UBB contributes to this endeavor through the expertise of two internationally renowned researchers: Andreas Bender, a specialist in AI applied to drug discovery; Vlad Cojocaru, an expert in computational biochemistry.

Their research combines prediction algorithms with molecular simulations to design optimized epitopes, which will later be experimentally validated within the European consortium.

In addition to the scientific objectives, the network aims to train a new generation of researchers, providing funding for: doctoral salaries; research materials; international mobility. In the spirit of this philosophy, the selected doctoral students must comply with strict mobility criteria, not being able to come from countries where they have lived for more than 12 months in the last three years.

• A strategic step for the biomedical profile

The two researchers have already started developing the new research axis in vaccinology at UBB, and the university is currently recruiting a doctoral student within the network. The institution's representatives emphasize that this funding strengthens UBB's position in the field of computational life sciences and reflects the university's growing focus on biomedicine and related fields. The EVADERE network brings together 14 research institutions and universities, coordinated by the University of Milano-Bicocca, with prestigious academic centers and institutes from Italy, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France and Hungary among its partners.