PANDOMIC Final Consortium Meeting: Consolidating Progress in Genomic Surveillance and Preparedness

The PANDOMIC consortium held its Final Meeting on 26-27 November 2025 in Bucharest, with teams from the Laboratoire national de santé (LNS), the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) and the Cantacuzino National Military Medical Institute for Research and Development (IC), joined by representatives from ECDC, HERA, HaDEA and the External Advisory Board.

The meeting marked the end of nearly 30 months of collaboration and provided a consolidated view of progress as the project approaches its conclusion in December 2025.

Partners reviewed major advancements in genomic surveillance. LNS validated RSV sequencing workflows and generated 642 RSV genomes, while INSP established its RSV WGS protocol, carried out pilot sequencing and prepared its first data submissions. In parallel, IC implemented the WGS workflow for the surveillance of foodborne pathogens and submitted genomic data to EpiPulse.

Both countries also strengthened One Health surveillance for antimicrobial resistant Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. and Campylobacter spp., revealing important plasmid-mediated resistance trends and improving cross-country analytical capabilities. The project also delivered substantial progress in digital capacity. INSP established a national bioinformatics hub with secure storage, a high-performance computing system and coordinated access for regional laboratories, enabling consistent analysis of Illumina and Nanopore data.

LNS supported the development of pipelines, quality control processes and visualization tools to ensure methodological alignment across partners.

Work on preparedness planning resulted in reinforced national frameworks in both countries, including the STRONG¹ model developed in Romania to guide long-term genomic readiness. Sustainability actions defined during the project aim to maintain sequencing capacity, data-management systems and inter-institutional collaboration beyond PANDOMIC’s lifetime.