Kick-off Meeting of COST Action CA23142 Delve-into-Pneumocystis

The meeting was organised in a hybrid format, allowing participants to join both on-site and online, and gathered 48 researchers from 20 countries, including 12 young scientists and representatives from 10 Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITCs). This inclusive participation reflected COST’s core principles of collaboration, gender balance, and capacity building.

The morning sessions focused on the constitution of the Management Committee (MC) and the establishment of the four Working Groups (WGs). During the MC meeting, members approved the Work & Budget Plan (Grant Period 1) and elected the Core Group and Grant Holder representatives. The parallel WG sessions defined the initial scientific priorities and collaborative structure:

WG1 – Clinical cohorts of patients: Dr. Francisco J. Medrano (Spain), Dr. Raimonda Matulionyte (Lithuania) – draft of a patient registry form.

WG2 – Development and evaluation of novel diagnostic methods: Dr. Gilles Nevez (France), Dr. Yaxsier de Armas (Cuba) – design of a diagnostic practice survey.

WG3 – Pneumocystis physiopathology: Dr. Elena Charpentier (Spain) – preparation of a physiopathology survey and expansion of WG membership.

WG4 – Communication and dissemination: Dr. Rocío Salsoso (Spain) – proposal of the website structure and outreach plan.

In the afternoon, a Scientific Kick-off Conference featured opening remarks from institutional representatives and presentations by Dr. Marta Kicia (Poland) and Dr. Enrique Calderón (Spain), highlighting the relevance of a COST framework to address current challenges in Pneumocystis research. Scientific sessions covered the epidemiology and diagnosis of Pneumocystis infections (Gilles Nevez, Solène Le Gal) and novel molecular and host–pathogen interaction tools (Dr. Fernando Cardoso, Dr. Anna Aviñó, and Dr. Susana Ruiz).

The meeting concluded with remarks by Dr. Enrique Calderón, emphasizing the successful launch of the Action, the establishment of its governance structure, and the importance of coordinated work across the four Working Groups to achieve the Action’s objectives.

The Kick-off Meeting laid the groundwork for the Delve-into-Pneumocystis network, initiating a new stage of international cooperation, knowledge exchange, and capacity building dedicated to advancing the understanding and diagnosis of Pneumocystis infections.