Project Newsletter | 2025 | extra event issue
Dear HEDIMED community, we invite you to attend the Environment & Immune-mediated diseases: Exposomic Insights from the HEDIMED Project HEDIMED, Final Stakeholder Event on Tue 20th May 2025, online.
Our EU-funded HEDIMED project started in 2020 investigating the role of the exposome in immune-mediated diseases. The exposome includes all lifetime exposures of an individual covering e.g. infections, microbiome, diet, lifestyle, pollution, and occupational factors. HEDIMED aimed at identifying exposomic determinants that can contribute to the ongoing epidemic of immune-mediated diseases focusing on type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, allergies, and asthma, all of which have increased rapidly during the last decades. HEDIMED utilized extensive prospective sample and data series collected from pregnant women and children in large birth cohort studies and used modern molecular profiling and data mining tools to identify exposomic risk and protective factors. HEDIMED also created a toolbox that brings several new technologies and solutions available for various stakeholders.
This event aims to deepen the understanding of the crucial role of the exposome in society and identify new opportunities for disease prevention and intervention.
Kind regards,
HEDIMED team & Heikki Hyöty (coordinator)
Details
Date: Tuesday 20 May 2025
Location: Online
Time: 09:00-15:00 CET
Cost: Free, registration required
09:00 – 09:40 Opening
- Overview of the event’s agenda and objectives – Jutta Laiho, Tampere University, Finland
- Introduction of HEDIMED and the exposome concept – Heikki Hyöty + Jutta Laiho, Tampere University, Finland
- Secondary use of health data for exposome research in the European Health Data Space (EHDS) – Irini Kessissoglou, European Commission, DG SANTE
09:40 – 10:40 Exposomic insights into immune mediated diseases risk factors, causes, mechanisms
- The role of environmental biodiversity in developing IMDs – Aki Sinkkonen, Natural Resources Institute, Finland
- The role of infections in developing IMDs – Heikki Hyöty, Tampere University, Finland
- Environmental chemical exposures – Panu Rantakokko, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)
- Common exposomic determinants of immune-mediated diseases – Ketil Størdal, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
10:40 – 11:00 Coffee break
11:00 – 12:00 Innovative technologies and platforms for exposome research
- Allergens Screening Tool: Portable Fluorescence Biosensing Reader – Loïc Burr/Silvia Demuru, CSEM, Switzerland
- Array-in-well multiplex assays platform for the analysis of microbial and other antigens in human exposome studies – Petri Saviranta, VTT, Finland
- The HEDIMED research platform – secure and user-friendly data analytics with virtualisation technologies – Juha Pajula, VTT, Finland
- The HEDIMED public platform – data visualisation and dissemination for researchers – Apostolia Karabatea, Gnomon Informatics, Greece
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch Break
13:00 – 13:30 Exposome research related impact on policy
- Open-source simulation model for investigating the cost-effectiveness of preventing and screening celiac disease – Jani Mäkinen, Tampere University, Finland
- Modelling the effects of preventive interventions in Type 1 Diabetes – Heikki Hyöty, Tampere University, Finland
13:30 – 14:45 Panel discussion: “How exposomic insights can shape policies and public health.”
- Gabriele Berg, Graz University of Technology, Austria
- Juha Pajula, VTT, Finland
Kalle Kurppa, Tampere University, Finland - Hanna Haveri, Päijät-Häme Well-being County, Finland
- Tiina Vitikainen, Finnish Allergy, Skin and Asthma Federation
- Helka-Liisa Hentilä, Oulu University, Finland
14:45 – 15:00 Wrap-up and closing remarks
The European Human Exposome Network
The European Human Exposome Network (EHEN) is the world’s largest network of projects studying the impact of environmental exposure on human health. It brings together 9 EU research projetcs that address issues such as exposures to air quality, noise, chemicals, urbanisation etc. and health impacts.
Read more about EHEN and see their latest news.
