Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PUSHH (Palaeoproteomics to Unleash Studies on Human History)
Reporting period: 2020-03-01 to 2022-02-28
PUSHH is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Training Network (ETN) providing international doctoral training on palaeoproteomics applied to palaeontology, palaeoanthropology and archaeology.
The momentum within ancient biomolecules research is outstripping the ability to deliver comprehensive training programmes at the national level. Today, individual research units within Europe are mainly recognised for their specific strengths either in proteomic research in the biopharma sector, or in (micro)morphometrical observation of fossils and ancient artefacts. As a consequence, students are being forced to specialise at too early a stage, often without a full understanding of the impressive growth of the discipline and its intersecting elements.
The PUSHH objectives are:
1. To develop a strategic, powerful training platform to equip the next generation of palaeoanthropologists, palaeontologists and archaeologists with the skills to exploit the latest biomolecular technologies and significantly advance Europe’s standing in an area in which we are regarded as world-leading scholars.
2. To develop a community of scientists communicating confidently with each other about advanced concepts across highly specialised disciplines from both humanities and experimental sciences, as well as interacting effectively with other stakeholders in the field they are part of, such as private companies, policy makers and the interested public.
3. To train a cohort of versatile and polyhedric researchers who are able to establish collaborative trans-sectorial initiatives on different research disciplines with a common intent in line with EU main policies.
4. To grow a generation of researchers who can have an impact on establishing common policy, scientific and ethical standards and protocols to the analysis of our shared European and World heritage.
5. To generate research that will establish innovative analytical methods, leading to the development of new products and services for the study and protection of World biological and cultural heritage materials.
The momentum within ancient biomolecules research is outstripping the ability to deliver comprehensive training programmes at the national level. Today, individual research units within Europe are mainly recognised for their specific strengths either in proteomic research in the biopharma sector, or in (micro)morphometrical observation of fossils and ancient artefacts. As a consequence, students are being forced to specialise at too early a stage, often without a full understanding of the impressive growth of the discipline and its intersecting elements.
The PUSHH objectives are:
1. To develop a strategic, powerful training platform to equip the next generation of palaeoanthropologists, palaeontologists and archaeologists with the skills to exploit the latest biomolecular technologies and significantly advance Europe’s standing in an area in which we are regarded as world-leading scholars.
2. To develop a community of scientists communicating confidently with each other about advanced concepts across highly specialised disciplines from both humanities and experimental sciences, as well as interacting effectively with other stakeholders in the field they are part of, such as private companies, policy makers and the interested public.
3. To train a cohort of versatile and polyhedric researchers who are able to establish collaborative trans-sectorial initiatives on different research disciplines with a common intent in line with EU main policies.
4. To grow a generation of researchers who can have an impact on establishing common policy, scientific and ethical standards and protocols to the analysis of our shared European and World heritage.
5. To generate research that will establish innovative analytical methods, leading to the development of new products and services for the study and protection of World biological and cultural heritage materials.
Since its launch, the PUSHH ETN has made stable progress in its activities with contributions from the entire consortium to achieve its objectives. Inevitably, the COVID19 pandemics, which started to show its clearly tangible effects in Europe in March 2020, i.e. the PUSHH project month n. 1 (M1) , brought significant complications to the advancement and the delivery of the PUSHH activities. Despite the restrictions though, a careful and considerate rescheduling and reconfiguration of the PUSHH activities, constantly in agreement with the project officer (PO), allowed to minimise the negative effects of the pandemics. Although the COVID19-related restrictions are currently lifted, their effects still persist. A set of measures have been implemented to minimise the indirect impact of the COVID19-related restrictions.
Most of the planned activities were deployed as originally planned or with minor changes, for example by transferring on-line activities initially designed as in person events, aiming at affecting the quality of the learning and/or training experience the least possible. Despite these changes, none of the PUSHH activities had to be completely cancelled and all the PUSHH project’s intended learning objectives were maintained. Currently, some delays still persist, especially with the progression of the experimental project activity of each single fellow and with the accomplishment of the derived research, dissemination and communication deliverables.
The following network wide training activities were delivered:
Workshop 1: “Start-up phase of the doctorate”; host: UCPH and UCT.
- module 1: “Start-up phase of the doctorate”
- module 2: “Academic writing”
- module 3: “[Social] media & public relations for science”
- module 4: “Ethics In Research”
Workshop 2: “Palaeoproteomics hands-on practical courses”; hosts: UBx and UCPH.
- module 1: “Advanced mass spectrometry applied to cultural heritage Summer School”
- module 2: “Practical Palaeoproteomics Summer School”
Workshop 3: “MaxQuant Summer School”; host: MPG.
Workshop 7: “Introduction to University Pedagogy”; host: UCPH.
The PUSHH scientific production in currently represented mostly by conference abstracts and non peer-reviewed preprints. Presently, the smooth progression of the research activities of all the PUSHH fellows strongly indicates that in the second part of the project the scientific productivity will be back to more conventional levels.
Most of the planned activities were deployed as originally planned or with minor changes, for example by transferring on-line activities initially designed as in person events, aiming at affecting the quality of the learning and/or training experience the least possible. Despite these changes, none of the PUSHH activities had to be completely cancelled and all the PUSHH project’s intended learning objectives were maintained. Currently, some delays still persist, especially with the progression of the experimental project activity of each single fellow and with the accomplishment of the derived research, dissemination and communication deliverables.
The following network wide training activities were delivered:
Workshop 1: “Start-up phase of the doctorate”; host: UCPH and UCT.
- module 1: “Start-up phase of the doctorate”
- module 2: “Academic writing”
- module 3: “[Social] media & public relations for science”
- module 4: “Ethics In Research”
Workshop 2: “Palaeoproteomics hands-on practical courses”; hosts: UBx and UCPH.
- module 1: “Advanced mass spectrometry applied to cultural heritage Summer School”
- module 2: “Practical Palaeoproteomics Summer School”
Workshop 3: “MaxQuant Summer School”; host: MPG.
Workshop 7: “Introduction to University Pedagogy”; host: UCPH.
The PUSHH scientific production in currently represented mostly by conference abstracts and non peer-reviewed preprints. Presently, the smooth progression of the research activities of all the PUSHH fellows strongly indicates that in the second part of the project the scientific productivity will be back to more conventional levels.
PUSHH is addressing major unsettled debates about African and Asian extinct hominid phylogeny, by developing and deploying a new generation of palaeoproteomic workflows, relying on the most advanced mass spectrometry and bioinformatic solutions currently available. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based ancient protein sequencing, i.e. palaeoproteomics, already convincingly demonstrated its transformative value, currently being the only approach enabling molecular-based evolutionary reconstructions for species that went extinct millions of years ago. Despite these achievements, the current palaeoproteomics methods are still affected by significant limitations and need to be further improved to increase the broad application and long-term impact of palaeoproteomics. PUSHH is aiming at achieving extended ancient proteome sequence recoveries. This will provide the resolution needed to reconstruct more elusive evolutionary processes, such as population structures and hybridisation events.
Similarly, all the approaches currently used to determine the biological species and the sex of the organisms from which fossil tooth and bone fragments originate are affected by multiple severe limitations. PUSHH is developing a new generation of dedicated palaeoproteomic workflows, built on the most advanced and emerging analytical technologies and computational solutions currently available in mass spectrometry and bioinformatics. Palaeoproteomics, currently a non-mainstream approach, will become the first, and most probably the only, robust and reliable technological platform allowing to overcome some of the most relevant challenges in palaeoanthropology and prehistoric archaeology. Some of these technological solutions could be commercially re-purposed to deliver superior performance in public and private analytic laboratories for diagnostics in forensic medicine, or in the food and pharmaceutical industry.
Similarly, all the approaches currently used to determine the biological species and the sex of the organisms from which fossil tooth and bone fragments originate are affected by multiple severe limitations. PUSHH is developing a new generation of dedicated palaeoproteomic workflows, built on the most advanced and emerging analytical technologies and computational solutions currently available in mass spectrometry and bioinformatics. Palaeoproteomics, currently a non-mainstream approach, will become the first, and most probably the only, robust and reliable technological platform allowing to overcome some of the most relevant challenges in palaeoanthropology and prehistoric archaeology. Some of these technological solutions could be commercially re-purposed to deliver superior performance in public and private analytic laboratories for diagnostics in forensic medicine, or in the food and pharmaceutical industry.