We are excited to announce that the first Core Group meeting of COST Action CA24158 – Disparities In Surgical Specialisation and Education in Cancer Training (DISSECT) took place on 27 November 2025, bringing together the leadership team to officially launch the project and coordinate the first steps toward achieving the deliverables and objectives of the Grant Period 1 (1 November 2025 – 31 October 2026).
Two weeks later, we held our first parallel Working Group (WG) meeting, marking a dynamic start to the scientific and collaborative activities ahead.
During this meeting, participants received an overview of the Work & Budget Plan and the range of COST funding opportunities available within the Action, such as in-person & online meetings, training school, researcher mobility grants, and dissemination activities.
Different grant schemes open to participants were also introduced, including Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs), Virtual Mobility Grants, Conference Grants, and Young Researcher Grants.
In addition, the Action’s communication strategy was agreed upon, with plans for a dedicated DISSECT website to be launched by the end of February 2026, alongside increased social media visibility. These channels will play a key role in sharing updates, promoting opportunities, and guiding researchers on how to get involved and apply for funding.
The two meetings set the foundation for upcoming tasks and strengthened cross-WG communication as we begin implementing the Action’s vision.
We are also pleased to share that co-leads have now been appointed for all five Working Groups:
WG1 – Identification & Evaluation of Disparities – Pallvi Kaul (IN)
WG2 – Building Research Capacity – Dara Lundon (IE)
WG3 – Multidisciplinary Teams (MDT) Knowledge Exchange – Dana Sochorová (CZ)
WG4 – Surgical Mentorship – Susanna Polotto (UK)
WG5 – Innovation – Pedro Gouveia (PT)
A big thank you to all members who joined and contributed to these milestone meetings. We look forward to an inspiring and productive journey throughout this first grant period.
Stay tuned for updates as DISSECT moves forward!
