ORCHESTRA has evolved into a robust multinational network, led by University of Verona with 37 partners from 15 countries collaborating closely. This year's annual partner meeting on November 7th, 2023, reaffirmed the profound impact of collective endeavors, with a review of its accomplishments and prospects in a collaborative meeting that highlighted the dedication of its participants.

In a new ORCHESTRA study, researchers explored the post-acute phase experiences of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Emilia-Romagna and Veneto Regions of Italy. Specifically, the study aimed to investigate the incidence and risk factors of access to specific healthcare services (outpatient visits and diagnostics, drug prescriptions) during the post-acute phase, in a healthy population at low risk of severe acute COVID-19.

Working together with the Milan-based communication experts of Zadig, we are happy to present new graphic materials on our research. A new infographic gives an overview of what our project is all about. We also worked with them to create a video on the most important findings of a recent ORCHESTRA-publication.

In a recent study, ORCHESTRA researchers within the KoCo19 Study of the LMU University Hospital Munich and partners, looked at how our immune systems respond to COVID-19 in different situations: after getting infected, after being vaccinated, or if someone got infected even after vaccination (called “breakthrough infections”).

In the world of pandemic research, understanding the intricate dance between infections, prevention measures, and their consequences on public health is of paramount importance. Within ORCHESTRA, the WP3 team has been ardently focused on unraveling these complexities through an ambitious set of tasks grounded in population-based cohorts.

We are thrilled to share that the European Commission has officially approved and signed an amendment for a 12-month, no-cost extension of the ORCHESTRA Grant Agreement. This pivotal development paves the way for an exciting extension of the project's duration, enhancing its potential impact and further solidifying the commitment of all partners involved.

The ORCHESTRA project has just published a new long COVID-19 syndrome study in the eClinical Medicine journal. The study will help the design of clinical trials to improve symptoms and the impact on quality of life for these patients.

The ORCHESTRA science challenge is designed to allow external scientists to research their pressing COVID-19 related questions with ORCHESTRA data. The application process is now open and will end on 30/09/2023. The accepted participants will be allowed to perform analysis of cohort data with the help of Federated Learning and our ORCHESTRA team. A publication of the results is part of the challenge under consideration of the ORCHESTRA consortium.

This ORCHESTA study “Using machine learning to predict antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in solid organ transplant recipients: the multicenter ORCHESTRA cohort”, lead by Prof. Maddalena Gianella, University of Bologna, was presented the European Congress of Microbiology (ECCMID) 2023 in Copenhagen and published here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2023.04.027. Carried out by the ORCHESTRA partners University of Bologna, University of Antwerp, University of Verona, and Helmholtz Munich, the study researched the question if good level of protection can be reached in solid organ recipients after a booster-doses. Machine learning models were developed to predict the individual risk of negative antibody response using various factors as covariates, including age, type of transplant, time between transplant and vaccination, immunosuppressive drugs, type of vaccine, and functioning of the organ transplant (“graft function”). Please find out more about the study and its outcome in the interview with Prof. Maddalena Gianella.

The '10 Questions to ORCHESTRA Initiative`' is designed to facilitate communication with our researchers and to enable public participation in the research process. The patient perspective is key to understand the true objectives of our research. The idea is to collect important questions from patients and individuals affected by COVID and seek answers using our data.

The ORCHESTRA General Assembly took place on 9 May. The work package leaders presented and discussed work in progress, achievements and further steps. Over 80 members of the ORCHESTRA Consortium Partners joined the Assembly, as well as representatives from the project's Stakeholders, the Advisory Panel, and the Ethics Board, who actively participated by sharing their valuable feedback and suggestions.

The ORCHESTRA General Assembly took place on 9 May. The work package leaders presented and discussed work in progress, achievements and further steps. Over 80 members of the ORCHESTRA Consortium Partners joined the Assembly, as well as representatives from the project's Stakeholders, the Advisory Panel, and the Ethics Board, who actively participated by sharing their valuable feedback and suggestions.

ORCHESTRA proudly presents a vast variety of research results at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), held from April 15-18, 2023, in Copenhagen, Denmark. The project's contributions cover a broad range of topics related to COVID-19, reflecting the project's wide scope of research.

“Integrative modelling of reported case numbers and seroprevalence reveals time-dependent test efficiency and infectious contacts” is a Work Package 8 study conducted under the lead of Helmholtz Center Munich for the modelling and LMU Munich for the data collection. First author Dr. Lorenzo Contento, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bonn, gives answers about the study.

“SARS-CoV-2 Breakthrough Infections: Incidence and Risk Factors in a Large European Multicentric Cohort of Health Workers” is a study conducted within Work Package 5 (WP5), which is led by Prof. Paolo Bofetta, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna. The answers were given by his team Mahsa Abedini, Giulia Collatuzzo, Giorgia Ditano, Ludovica Leomanni, Marika D’Agostini, Shuffield Seyram Asafo and Adelajda Matuka.

“Temporal trends of COVID-19 antibodies in vaccinated healthcare workers undergoing repeated serological sampling: An individual-level analysis within 13 months in the ORCHESTRA cohort” is a study conducted within Work Package 5 (WP5), which is led by Prof. Paolo Bofetta, Department of...

We are excited to share that our team for Work Package 8 - "Statistic Modelling and Analysis" recently had an amazing in-person scientific retreat in Paris. This was an opportunity for us to connect and collaborate face-to-face after months of remote work.

“Determinants of Anti-S Immune Response at 9 Months after COVID-19 Vaccination in a Multicentric European Cohort of Healthcare Workers—ORCHESTRA Project” is a study conducted by ORCHESTRA partner University of Bologna and was performed within Work Package 5 “The Healthcare Workers Cohort”.

ORCHESTRA study „Impact of Omicron Variant Infection on Assessment of Spike-Specific Immune Responses Using the EUROIMMUN Quan-T-Cell SARS-CoV-2 Assay and Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2-S“ shows that different tests perform differently with different variants. The publication was performed by Work Package 3 under the lead of ORCHESTRA partner Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU). Christina Reinkemeyer, LMU project manager and co-author of the study gives answers.

Antwerp, 09.02.2023, "Host immunological responses facilitate development of SARS-CoV-2 mutations in patients receiving monoclonal antibody treatments" is a study showing several significant immunological findings: patients treated with various monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) develop escape spike mutations in SARS-CoV-2 where an anti-inflammatory and pro-healing host milieu facilitates development of such mutations...