Celebrating another MOCIA year
Written by Arienne de Jong
On September 24, the annual MOCIA consortium day was held at Akoesticum in Ede, bringing together team members for a productive and eventful day. The session began with updates on the progress of each work package, highlighting key achievements and future plans.
The FINGER-NL trial is progressing well, with the second round of follow-up visits set to be completed by June 2025. Excitingly, an additional two years of follow-up have been funded and recently approved by the ethics committee, enabling the study to gather more long-term data from participants, which will significantly enrich the findings. The HELI and COMBI studies have finished, and analyses are in full swing, providing deeper mechanistical insights, while in vitro research on gut-immune and gut-brain health continues to advance.
The development of a home toolkit is also underway, with a Mentimeter quiz sparking creative ideas for its name. Currently in the exploration and definition phase, the team is working to gather all necessary requirements for the toolkit’s design. Meanwhile, knowledge utilization efforts are focused on both internal and external dissemination to ensure the findings are widely shared and impactful. Implementation research is being conducted to guarantee that the study’s results are effectively used.
The poster session, where PhD students and postdocs showcased their research, drew significant attention and led to enthusiastic discussions. It’s encouraging to witness the progress of publications and to see MOCIA’s work being featured at international conferences.
Kim van Veen, on behalf of The Brain Foundation Netherlands, also gave an inspiring presentation on their mission for “Healthy brains for everyone.” They support prevention, treatment, and participation in society through financing scientific research, education, and innovation. MOCIA is one of the projects they proudly support.
The day concluded with an engaging workshop on scientific communication, led by Radboud University’s press office & science communication department. Science communication officers Lieneke and Thomas emphasized the importance of presenting scientific outcomes in a way that’s accessible to the public. Participants practiced delivering concise research pitches in layman’s terms and received valuable feedback.
The workshop also offered practical tips on media interactions, with a strong recommendation to collaborate with their organization’s communication departments to enhance outreach efforts.
Overall, it was a productive day full of updates, collaboration, and valuable training aimed at enhancing the project’s impact. Additionally, it highlighted the importance of connecting the work packages and celebrating the progress achieved so far.