National Research Program “Horizon 2000”

Published on April 5, 2000

In 1999, the medical research and development topics assigned by Commission 14 Medicine, Biology, Biotechnology within the National Research Program “Horizon 2000” covered areas of great national and international scientific importance, closely correlated with the research themes of the European Community and the concerns in the field held by the North American states. The topics of exceptional importance carried out in 1999 and representing absolute novelties in Romania are those that have made a significant contribution to the development of contemporary medical science.

The Scientific Objectives pursued within the “Horizon 2000” Program are in line with the research and healthcare policies promoted by the Romanian Government through the Ministry of Health and Family, the Academy of Medical Sciences, and the National Health Insurance House.

Medical scientific research pursued strategic objectives of great relevance by addressing, in an active, flexible, and multidisciplinary dynamic, extensive domains ranging from the fundamental analysis of human pathological phenomena to the promotion of the latest results of scientific creation in experimental, clinical, and exploratory medicine. The main objective was to apply the results of medical research in the Romanian medical system and to integrate our scientific work into the European Community and the recommendations of the World Health Organization.

Among the objectives pursued within the thematic framework in 1999, within the “Horizon 2000” Program, we mention:

• Promoting and supporting fundamental research to understand the mechanisms of human disease and promoting multisectoral research between medicine and other fields such as biophysics, biochemistry, biotechnology, and medical informatics;
• Developing knowledge in the field of child, adolescent, adult, and elderly pathology, with a special focus on disease prevention methods and reducing morbidity from various causes;
• Developing and organizing advanced medical technological systems in our country to enable the creation of organ banks and to develop tissue and organ transplant surgery;
• Strategically fundamental research to combat human pathological processes with serious effects on the population (cancer, diabetes, mental illnesses, systemic diseases, infectious diseases);
• Developing new methods, installations, instruments, devices, and biotechnologies in the field of applied medicine, medical equipment, original drugs, specific medical information prescriptions, to improve the quality of medical care and enhance life and health in our environment.

The research and development program “Horizon 2000” in the field of medical sciences, pharmaceuticals, biology, and biotechnologies has a pronounced character of novelty and continuity. Conducted over 4 years, it was scientifically coordinated by the Academy of Medical Sciences through its structures and with the competent assistance of members of this institution. The committees for evaluating scientific results included members of the Academy of Medical Sciences. It should be mentioned that numerous research teams from institutes, centers, nuclei, and hospitals were coordinated by personalities from our academic institution.

The projects carried out within the “Horizon 2000” program were closely related to the scientific objectives of the 5th Framework Program of the European Community, which allowed research and development institutions to participate in this European program. There were also international partnership programs with institutions from the USA, Israel, Canada, Russia, Turkey, etc. The 152 research projects were assigned to 7 national research institutes and the 8 medical universities in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Timișoara, Craiova, Târgu Mureș, Oradea, and Constanța. Partial and final results were presented at 173 scientific events in the country and abroad (congresses, symposiums, seminars, conferences, and workshops) as well as in over 363 scientific communications. Furthermore, a significant number of specialized works (over 46) monographs and treatises were produced and published at the end of the program. A special mention should be given to the 16 scientific patents resulting from the research themes and awarded by the Romanian State Office for Inventions and Trademarks.

The completion of the “Horizon 2000” program aimed at scientific improvement of specialized personnel and equipping research units with modern equipment with advanced techniques in priority areas. Through the results obtained, it will enable the launching of research and development projects within the framework of the 6th Framework Program of the European Community, which took place between 2003-2006.

The results obtained in the “Horizon 2000” program are notable in the field of diagnostic methodologies in organ transplantation, new active biological substances in the pharmaceutical field, and new synthesis products with applicability in biotechnologies.

Medical and pharmaceutical research for the year 2002 can be characterized by the inclusion of topics and objectives in specific priority programs at the national level, in close collaboration with the programs of the Ministry of Health and Family, including: the program of fundamental Romanian medical research; the program for research in the field of organ transplantation and the establishment of tissue banks; surveillance and control of cardiovascular diseases in collaboration with the WHO; fighting against infectious diseases; research and fight against cancer; research in the field of Romanian medicine; in the field of child and adolescent pathology; in public health and disease prevention.