Welcome to POINT's newsletter!

We are thrilled to release the first of many newsletters of our project POINT, a space where you will find updates and news about the project, invitations to events, resources and material to be download, and much more.

POINT is a project funded by the European Union that aims to understand and address the long-term health risks for people who have had COVID-19. Even after recovering from the initial illness, many individuals face an increased risk of developing serious conditions such as heart, lung, or kidney problems months or even years later.

Through advanced biomarkers and a virtual twin model, POINT seeks to predict future health complications, develop standardized guidelines for healthcare professionals, and bridge the gap between scientific discoveries and their practical application in clinical settings. The project’s ultimate goal is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the post-acute phase of COVID-19 and to equip healthcare providers with the tools and guidelines necessary to effectively manage patients.

POINT is approaching its first anniversary, and we’ve had a productive year! Since our kickoff in January 2024, we have been laying the foundation for our research, bringing together experts from across Europe, and starting to collect crucial health data from patients. Early in 2024, clinical partners secured the ethical approvals required to conduct cohort and register-based studies. These cohorts, along with existing sample collections, provide the foundation needed to better understand the post-acute phase of COVID-19.

In 2024, we also established the cellular models best suited to study the mechanisms driving the human body’s long-term responses to COVID-19. Additionally, we developed baseline virtual twin models. Together, these approaches offer insights into cellular mechanisms and pave the way for identifying biomarkers that can help assess an individual’s unique risks and challenges after a COVID-19 infection, as well as determine optimal treatment options.

This past year, POINT, in collaboration with its partner WONCA, laid the groundwork for engaging with a vast network of physicians and practitioners across Europe and beyond. This collaboration will form the basis for ongoing interactions over the coming years, ensuring the development and dissemination of the guidelines and recommendations resulting from the POINT project.

To maximize the impact of our findings and foster future collaborations, POINT has played a key role in establishing a network of other EU Horizon-funded projects within the same cluster. Several meetings among participating groups were held in the latter half of 2024. In 2025, POINT will take a leading role in these efforts, coordinating a series of collaborative meetings and idea exchanges with a steering committee. These activities will culminate in a physical meeting in Copenhagen at the end of 2025, organized by POINT.

As Coordinator Claus Desler (University of Copenhagen) explains: “The true extent of the pandemic’s consequences remains unclear. A project like POINT is indispensable for guiding the critical decisions we must make as a society moving forward. POINT is off to a very strong start, and I greatly look forward to sharing its contributions with the world in the years to come.”

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to make progress in improving health and care for those affected by COVID-19.