The 2nd Young Researchers (YR) Meeting of the COST Action CA21151 HAPLO-iPS took place on 18 May 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal, bringing together Young Researchers and Working Group members for an afternoon focused on scientific exchange, training, networking, and collaboration in the field of induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs).
The meeting opened with welcome remarks from Anna Veiga, Chair of the HAPLO-iPS COST Action, followed by Leonardo Martin, Young Researchers Group Leader, who introduced the YR Group structure and its role in promoting engagement, mobility, and collaboration among early-career researchers within the network.
The scientific program began with the opening keynote lecture delivered by Pedro Vicente, representing the Margarida Serra Group from iBET, the local hosts of the meeting. His lecture addressed biological and engineering approaches to advance hiPSC bioprocesses and translational manufacturing strategies for advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs).
A central component of the meeting was the series of STSM (Short-Term Scientific Mission) short talks, where Young Researchers presented the scientific and technical experiences gained during international mobility activities across Europe. Meiying Xue shared her work on AI and large language models for stem cell clinical trial data integration during her STSM at FORTH (Greece). Daniel Naumovas presented his training experience in GMP and non-GMP iPSC generation workflows at the University of Oslo (Norway). Chiara Magnoni and Kirilka Mladenova presented training activities related to HAPLO-iPSC cultivation, generation, and characterization at IDIBELL (Spain).
The meeting also featured the YR Spotlight Talk by Anna Brymova, who reflected on the impact of HAPLO-iPS and COST Action participation on her PhD journey, international networking, and early-career scientific development.
The event highlighted the importance of YRs within the HAPLO-iPS network and reinforced the role of COST Actions in promoting international collaboration, interdisciplinary training, scientific mobility, and the development of the next generation of researchers in regenerative medicine and stem cell technologies.