On 2–3 June 2025, FORTIFIEDx joined the PREPARE-EU Spring School “Connecting European Expertise for Pandemic Preparedness” in Leuven, Belgium. Organized by KU Leuven within the framework of the EU project PCR-4-ALL and under the Leuven One Health initiative, the event brought together 97 researchers, industry representatives, and policymakers from 15 countries, with 13 EU projects contributing to the programme, including FORTIFIEDx.
FORTIFIEDx was represented through an invited presentation by Jeroen Lammertyn (KU Leuven), who presented the project’s objectives and approach to developing innovative point-of-care diagnostic solutions for infectious diseases. The FORTIFIEDx project was also showcased through a dedicated poster presentation. Several additional posters highlighted research from FORTIFIEDx partners, including work on self-powered microfluidic testing for HIV and syphilis, rapid Ebola virus detection, autonomous plasma microsampling, and the use of metagenomic sequencing to investigate viral pathogens associated with haemorrhagic fever.
The two-day event provided an excellent opportunity to exchange knowledge across disciplines and projects, with discussions covering pandemic preparedness, pathogen surveillance, diagnostics, and innovative technologies for responding to emerging infectious diseases.