A TargetMI consortium meeting was held in Leiden on 18 March 2025, hosted by Leiden University Medical Center. The meeting focused on project updates, data analysis, and planning of next steps.
Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger presented an overview of the current project status.
Matthew Vella presented 10-year follow-up data from the MAMI Study, including applications of sPLS-DA and PLS-DA.
Britte van der Vliet and Bart van Vlijmen presented progress on biomarker assay development using LC-MS/MS.
Diego Agius presented results from differential expression analysis of untargeted proteomics data.
Yesahel Scicluna presented work on case stratification.
Frits Rosendaal, Astrid van Hylckama Vlieg, Eleonora Camilleri, and Rosienne Farrugia contributed to discussions on future directions and continuation of the TargetMI project.
16 March 2026: TargetMI presented its innovation at the EISMEA EIC Cardiogenomics Tech-to-Market event in Leiden. The team showcased our multi-omics approach to identifying novel drug targets, biomarkers, and risk algorithms for myocardial infarction, supported by extensive, high-quality multi-omic and multi-layered data. The programme included a discussion on translating research into tangible impact. We thank EISMEA and the Dutch CardioVascular Alliance for organising the event.
27 Janary 2026: The TargetMI team recently hosted Prof. Gauden Galea at the University of Malta. Prof. Galea is a global health expert and public health physician, with over 25 years’ experience with the World Health Organization (WHO), including senior leadership roles in noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
5-6 December 2025: TargetMI PI Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger and Francesca Borg-Carbott attended the European Society of Cardiology ESC Cardio Genomics conference 2025 held in Lisbon, Portugal. Several talks on approaches to gene therapy in cardiovascular disease, including siRNAs, AAV-mediated and Crispr-Cas9 approaches.
1 December 2026: Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger and Jean Paul Ebejer attended this very clear session on funding opportunities offered by Xjenza Malta for furthering innovation development.
13-14 November 2025: Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger, Principal Investigator, took the stage at MedTech World to showcase TargetMI's work and how we use our multiomic and multilayered data in our proprietary computational data analysis tool, TargetID. To learn more read the TargetMI article published on the MedTech World Website.
3 November 2025: Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger and Rosienne Farrugia from TargetMI attended the kick off meeting for the EU COST action CardioPharmaGENET. In this COST action we will review genetic effects on treatment in cardiovascular disease, raise awareness with stakeholders encouraging the clinical application of findings with sufficient evidence for action.
26–27 September 2025: Science in the City
Good to be part of Science in the City Malta this year. The TargetMI team engaged with a wide audience across the two-day festival in Valletta, sharing insights from the TargetMI project, our work, and interacting with the public.
Science in the City is Malta’s national science and arts festival, bringing together researchers, artists, and the community to make science more accessible.
24–26 September 2025: COST Action AtheroNET Meeting
Great few days for TargetMI. We presented our work, connected with other researchers, and hosted the event here in Malta.
Thanks to Miron Sopic, Paolo Magni, and the COST Action AtheroNET team.
Discussions covered future directions, including EU funding, new COST Actions, and stronger academia–industry collaboration in cardiovascular innovation. We also shared updates on our progress within TargetMI, led by Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger and the rest of the team.
Thanks to all speakers, session chairs, and attendees.
28 May 2025: University of Malta Research Expo 2025, University of Malta Valletta Campus, Malta. Prof. Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger gave a talk, "TargetMI: A Multi-Omics Approach for Novel Drug Targets, Biomarkers and Risk Algorithms for Myocardial Infarction."
Malta Enterprise officials, George Gregory, CEO, and Brian Camilleri, Chief Officer of Economic Intelligence, Policy & EU Affairs met with team members of the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) Pathfinder project, TargetMI, led by Prof. Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger, the ERA Chair BioGeMT Project, Prof. Richard Muscat, Director of the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Biobanking, and Prof. Simon G. Fabri, Pro-Rector of Research & Knowledge Transfer at the University of Malta.
The visit included a productive presentation and discussion focused on unlocking the potential of research-driven innovation emerging from the TargetMI project with the goal of translating scientific advancements into real-world economic and societal benefits.
Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger and Rosienne Farrugia from the TargetMI project at the University of Malta attended the COST Action AtheroNET (CA21153) meeting in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The meeting brought together experts from Europe and internationally to build a collaborative network focused on improving the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), a leading cause of death worldwide.
By combining multiomics technologies with machine learning and AI, AtheroNET aims to develop innovative approaches that could transform cardiovascular care.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to share knowledge, explore potential collaborations, and connect with researchers with complementary expertise.
Learn more about COST Action AtheroNET (CA21153)
5 May 2025: Horizon Europe Info Days 2025 Brokerage Event on Cluster 1 Health: Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger gave a pitch on "Analysing Human Multiomic Data to Rapidly Identify Better Candidate Drug Targets." The pitch is available on YouTube at 1:36:22.
TargetMI participated in the EU-Startups Summit in Malta, where Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger, Edward Blake, Luke Cassar, Yesahel Scicluna, and Diego Agius represented the project.
They engaged with key stakeholders, gained insights relevant to the project, and explored opportunities for collaboration. During the summit, they met Oana Popescu (Strategic Communication & Stakeholder Engagement, EIC) and introduced the TargetMI project to her following her session on opportunities for corporates to collaborate with start-ups.
Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger attended the Enterprise Innovation Conference 2025, held on 9 April 2025 at Salini Resort. The programme combined keynote talks, panel discussions, exhibitions, B2B meetings, and networking, with a focus on digital transformation and advanced technologies for SMEs.
Sponsored by Enterprise Europe Network – Malta, Malta Enterprise, Malta Digital Innovation Authority, Lemonworx Ltd., and Invent 3D, the conference centred on “Towards a more sustainable, resilient and human-centric industry,” highlighting Industry 5.0.
28 November 2024: Julian's Tech Talks as part of Julian's Pathfinder Foundation: Prof. Jean-Paul Ebejer lectured on "Computer-aided drug discovery."
27 September 2024, 18:00-23:00: Science in the City: "Decoding the messages of life," TargetMI and BioGeMT projects at the Triton Fountain in Valletta.
The presence of team members at Science in the City 2024 offered a unique opportunity for visitors to gain a deeper understanding of their research. Using engaging games, they explained basic concepts in the field of bioinformatics, and used machine learning to answer questions about genetics and molecular biology.
The Times of Malta featured an article about this event.
4 September 2024: Introduction to Opportunities of European Innovation Council Programmes, Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger spoke about the EIC Pathfinder Cardiogenomics Challenge for TargetMI Project: A Multi-Omics Approach for Novel Drug Targets, Biomarkers, and Risk Algorithms for Myocardial Infarction.
1 July 2024: Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger spoke about the TargetMI and BioGeMT projects at a press conference for the launch of Xjenza Malta, the new agency replacing the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST). TVM News featured an article about this event.
.jpg)
25 May 2024: Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger presented "How genetics influences the risk of heart attacks" on behalf of the TargetMI and BioGeMT projects at Science Fest at St. Monica School Gzira.
11 May 2024: TargetMI and BioGeMT projects at KurżitàJiem 2024 at Esplora Interactive Science Centre in Malta.
12 March 2024: Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger presented on the topic, "How a 30-Year Journey in Research May Lead to Better Ways to Combat Heart Disease" at the School of Practical Philosophy in Malta.
1-20 December 2023: Internal Training for TargetMI and BioGeMT team members by BioGeMT ERA Chair, Panagiotis Alexiou.
