On 19–20 November 2025, the CapCell consortium gathered in Maastricht, The Netherlands, for its first in-person kick-off meeting since the project began earlier this year. Hosted by Maastricht University Medical Center+ (MUMC+), the two-day event offered an important opportunity for partners to align on ongoing work and upcoming milestones across all work packages.
Aligning scientific progress and next steps
Day 1 centred on CapCell’s scientific work packages, with partners presenting pilot data, discussing methodologies and sharing early insights from the first months of work. Sessions covered WP2 (end-user requirements & intact cell recovery), WP3 (microfluidics for cell isolation), WP4 (sorted/single-cell sequencing assays), WP5 (forensic genetic data analysis) and WP6 (testing, validation & training). The day concluded with a consortium dinner in Maastricht’s historic city centre.
Strengthening coordination and collaboration
Day 2 focused on cross-cutting and strategic aspects, including WP1 (coordination & innovation management) and WP7 (communication, dissemination & exploitation). A hands-on workshop helped identify cross-WP synergies, followed by targeted parallel sessions for the steering committee, commercial partners and early-career researchers. The meeting closed with a plenary discussion on upcoming priorities and inter-WP collaboration.
The meeting’s interactive sessions and discussions strengthened collaboration across the consortium and ensured a shared understanding of CapCell’s goals, workflows and expectations as the project moves forward.