During a 36 months long journey, the EU-funded ECHO Project aims to fill some of the major gaps in Research about human past in the Eastern Baltic area and to build a stable collaborative interdisciplinary network of five-countries-wide academic excellences.
By analyzing the current landscape, including existing challenges and gaps in research about human past in the Eastern Baltic area, the project aims to expand concept and methodology through a strategic, interdisciplinary approach.
The collaboration between five research centers enables the sharing of expertise, cutting-edge methodologies and innovative solutions. This synergy will not only enhance the effectiveness of each partner in achieving the objectives posed by ECHO project but will also contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the research field itself.
WP1
M1 - M36
UTARTU
WP1 will establish effective project management structures and communication channels, monitor partners activities, ensure progress toward project milestones, deliverables, and objectives in compliance with EC rules, and manage data in accordance with the FAIR and CARE principles.
WP2
M2 - M24
UTARTU, UCPH, LU, VU, KUL
WP2 aims to enhance UTARTU’s bioinformatics and statistical expertise, improve the ability to study selection signals using ancient and modern genomes, boost the analysis of low-coverage DNA data, develop expertise in genotype/phenotype relationships, and facilitate the exchange of best practices in clean lab management among partners.
WP3
M7 - M36
UTARTU, UCPH, LU, VU, KUL
WP3 aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration between UTARTU and its Baltic partners, and build UTARTU’s capacity to organize multiple data types for human past studies.
WP4
M13 - M36
UTARTU, UCPH, LU, VU, KUL
The WP4 has been set up to allow UTARTU to use its newly acquired skills, as well as gain experience in international interdisciplinary collaboration with Baltics partners. The research will be focused on demographic processes in post-Bronze Age Eastern Baltics.
WP5
M2 - M30
UTARTU
WP5 focuses on improving UTARTU’s research support by facilitating the exchange of best practices, enhancing proposal preparation skills, strengthening project management capacity, and improving systems for service provision.
WP6
M1 - M36
UTARTU, UCPH, LU, VU, KUL
WP6 centered on establishing infrastructure for effective project dissemination and communication, raising UTARTU’s international profile to attract talents, stimulating public interest in project topics, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the partnership.
This will drive innovative research on the human past in the understudied Baltic region by leveraging shared resources, harmonized multi-data analysis methods, and strengthened interdisciplinary and international collaboration with Baltic humanities scholars.
This will foster interdisciplinary research, joint projects, and mutual access to valuable data.
This will enhance UTARTU’s research management and administrative capacity, improve success in securing international funding, and strengthen project coordination skills.
This will increase UTARTU’s reputation and competitiveness in human population and evolutionary studies, attracting top talent, increasing research output, and strengthening its ability to secure international funding.
UTARTU will enhance its science and innovation capacity, increase its attractiveness and ability to retain top research talent, improve success rates in Horizon Europe participation, take on more leadership roles in consortia, and expand its outreach to the international research community.
T2.1 - Knowledge transfer in advanced statistical and bioinformatic methods in population genetics
M2-M12 (Lead UCPH)
T2.2 - Improving expertise in methods to study selection signals using modern and ancient human genomes
M7-M18 (Lead UCPH)
T2.3 - Boosting know-how in the analysis of low-coverage DNA sequence data
M5-M18 (Lead KUL)
T2.4 - Capacity building in studying genotype/phenotype relationships
M13-M24 (Lead KUL)
T2.5 - Exchange of practices in setting up and running clean labs
M2-M12 (Lead UTARTU)
T3.2 - Guidance on organizing and harmonizing multiple types of data for human past studies
M13-M16 (Lead UCPH)
T3.3 - Setting up a framework for increased collaboration between Eastern Baltics geneticists and humanities scholars
M7-M12, M19-M36 (Lead UTARTU)
T3.4 - Interdisciplinary summer schools
M19-M24 (Lead UTARTU)
T4.1 - aDNA data generation
M13-M19 (Lead UTARTU)
T4.2 - Genotype imputation of ancient genomes
M20-M24 (Lead UTARTU)
T4.3 - Inferring and analysis of genomic segments
M22-M26 (Lead UTARTU)
T4.4 - Modelling of demographic processes in West Eurasia focusing on the Eastern Baltic region and the Iron Age period
M21-M30 (Lead UTARTU)
T4.5 - Analysis of selection signals in human populations with a focus on Eastern Europe
M21-M36 (Lead UTARTU)
T5.1 - Exchange of best practices in central research support
M2-M12 (Lead KUL)
T5.4 - Establishing laboratory information management system and marketing practices for service projects
M18-M30 (Lead KUL)