ViroiDoc's first year: highlights from 2025

With the first year of implementation now behind us, ViroiDoc has successfully laid the foundations for a vibrant international doctoral network.

The project officially launched in January 2025, marking the start of an ambitious research and training programme focused on viroids and viroid-like RNAs. This was followed by a successful online kick-off meeting in April, bringing together all partners to align scientific objectives, training activities, and implementation plans.

A major milestone of the year was the ViroiDoc Days, held in Bari in September, where the consortium met in person for the first time. The meeting strengthened scientific collaboration, fostered exchanges between academia and industry, and helped shape the next phases of the project.

Another key achievement was the launch of two open calls for PhD positions, which attracted strong interest and resulted in the selection of 10 MSCA doctoral fellows. These early-stage researchers are now an integral part of the ViroiDoc community.

In parallel, we established the project’s communication channels, including the ViroiDoc website and profiles on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. The YouTube channel already offers recorded lectures, providing open access opportunities to learn more about viroids and viroid-like RNAs. We also launched the ViroiDoc newsletter, ensuring regular updates to our growing audience.

From a project management perspective, ViroiDoc reached all milestones planned for 2025 and successfully submitted four deliverables to the European Research Executive Agency (REA).

As we close this first year, we are grateful for the strong engagement of our partners, fellows, and wider community in building ViroiDoc. Looking ahead to 2026, we anticipate the first research results, an in-person consortium meeting in Strasbourg, and the opportunity to contribute to the 30-year celebration of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, highlighting three decades of EU support to researchers’ skills and career development.