Key Results & Achievements

This WP is a shared amongst ZikaPLAN, ZIKAlliance and ZIKAction.

The ZIKA-COLLAB group, formed of partners from the three consortia, Umeå University (ZikaPLAN), the Paediatric European Network for Treatment of AIDS PENTA (ZIKAction), and the Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale - Inserm (ZIKAlliance), set up two key cross-consortia boards. Two representatives from each consortium were appointed to the two boards, the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and the Ethics Advisory Committee (EAC).

Organising integrated communication

A joint Communication and Harmonization Planwas set up to provide details about communication harmonization efforts across the three consortia. It highlights the main targets for joint communication and sets the communication tools. This collaboration results in 2 joint quarterly newsletters, distributed to a common list of contacts through MailChimp.

Three separate websites, one for each consortium share a dedicated section on cross-consortia collaboration with common content.

Teleconferences of the ZIKA-COLLAB group are held monthly.

Meetings

The scientific coordinators of the three consortia, ZikaPLAN, ZIKAlliance and ZIKAction, met for the first time in Antwerp in October 2017 during the European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health where they presented the preliminary work being performed in their projects. A meeting of the Joint Executive Board (comprising the scientific coordinators and project managers of each consortium) also took place in Antwerp. Another remarkable result of this collaboration was the joint organization of an International ZIKA Symposium held in Marseille, France from June 4-6, 2018.

Managing ethical, regulatory and legal issues

A joint deliverable ‘Regulatory, legal and ethical SOPs’ including a total of 5 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on biological samples, data management, ethics and legal aspects, animal welfare and essential study documents was submitted to EU. This efficiently covers the ethics approvals, data protection and confidentiality as well as data sharing. The SOPs have been shared with the relevant partners involved in studies and continue to be used continuously as reference documents within the project.

Participating Organisations

Group leader: Prof. Annelies Wilder-Smith, Umeå University

  • London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
  • University of Oxford
  • University of Leuven (KU Leuven)
  • Institut Pasteur
  • Fondation Mérieux
  • Universidade de Pernambuco