This May 2013, marks the 2 year anniversary of the Virtual Physiological Human Institute with the VPH going from strength to strength.
The Policy Affairs Working Group (PAWG) of the Institute has been working hard to build on this success and ensure the right policy conditions for VPH researchers to continue their work . Over the past year, VPH representatives have met with key policy makers in the EU institutions to guarantee that the value of cutting edge multidisciplinary science that VPH offers does not go underestimated.
Through intense advocacy on behalf of VPH, policy makers are beginning to receive the message that in order to tackle the alarming growth in chronic diseases across the EU and to face the challenges of an ageing population, investment in eHealth solutions such as VPH are more necessary than ever. That truly personalised and in silico medicine can only be achieved through the use of, inter alia, advanced imaging and computational technologies is also being recognized. This recognition will be made manifest on 26 June 2013.
On this date, through the patronage of two key Members of the European Parliament, considered to be research champions, Mr. Sean Kelly and Professor Vittorio Prodi, VPH will be the subject of a Parliamentary event. The event entitled “Towards personalised and in silico medicine: eHealth Action Plan and VPH”, will bring together policy makers, researchers and health stakeholders to discuss how innovative tools such as VPH can be used to bring about personalised medicine in the EU, in particular through showcasing EU funding, eHealth success stories.
Given the success of VPH to date, it is fitting that VPH be shown as an example to follow, to overcome the barriers identified by the eHealth Action Plan 2012-2020 and ensure the wider uptake of eHealth solutions.
Thanks to the work of MEPs such as Mr. Kelly who has championed the needs of researchers in all policy areas including in the Data Protection Regulation and Professor Prodi, a long time supporter of cutting edge science, VPH can continue to lead the way, ensuring the development of new solutions to old health problems.
