The outcome of the 3rd EvoMG Seed Grants Call was announced today. The main goal of these grants is to boost high-quality research on Evolutionary Medical Genomics. Given their nature as seed grants, their purpose is to provide funding to kick start projects and generate foundational data, with the aim of facilitating the development of larger and competitive applications in the near future.

This call is dedicated to support proposals for multidisciplinary biomedical research that integrate evolutionary and genomic approaches to understanding and/or tackling human disease (see "Research Areas").  The suggested project should involve at least one faculty member of the CRG, UPF-MELIS or IBE. In addition, other research groups, clinical/translational groups or companies are encouraged to join as collaborators.  

Seven proposals were submitted. They were assessed by an ad hoc Evaluation Committee: Bernardo Rodríguez Martín (chair, CRG), Noelia Fernández Castillo (Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona), Mireia López Siles (Universitat de Girona, Girona), Urko Martínez Marigorta (CIC bioGUNE, Bilbao).

The top ranked projects were:

1) "Evolutionary dynamics of OXA Carbapenemase (EvOXA)", led by Macarena Toll Riera. The EvOXA project aims to study the eco-evolutionary dynamics of OXA enzymes, carbapenemases that confer resistance to last-resort carbapenem antibiotics and are widely distributed across several bacterial pathogens. The overall objective is to generate fundamental knowledge and resources that will help anticipate high-risk combinations and inform strategies to limit the spread of resistance in hospitals.

2) "Evolution of the gut microbiome and antibiotic resistance potential after spinal cord injury (EvoGmSci)", led by Mireia Vallès-Colomer. This project aims to understand how spinal cord injury transforms the intestinal ecosystem and may amplify the persistence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes within the microbiome. The overall objective is to obtain proof-of-concept data, through longitudinal metagenomics in patients with subacute spinal cord injury and controls from the same hospital environment, to guide improved antibiotic use and stewardship policies in neurorehabilitation clinics.

3) "Comparative genomics and transcriptomics of spontaneous tumors across vertebrates (CoCaGeT)", led by Donate Weghorn. This project investigates the evolution of cancer across diverse vertebrate species by integrating genome and transcriptome data from spontaneous tumors. The collaboration aims to identify shared and species-specific cancer mechanisms, including mutational processes, driver events, gene expression and splicing programs, and immune signatures. The overall objective is to generate a foundational comparative resource that may reveal evolutionary strategies relevant to cancer prevention and therapy in humans. 

4) "Mapping evolutionary trajectories and transcriptomic plasticity in follicular lymphoma (EvoPlas-FL)", led by Manuel Irimia. This project aims to map how genomic evolution and transcriptomic plasticity interact in follicular lymphoma (FL). The collaboration will use joint single-cell genome and transcriptome sequencing from patients with FL to reconstruct tumor evolutionary trajectories and determine whether malignant B cells follow stable clonal programs or show strong plasticity across B-cell maturation states. The overall objective is to generate pilot data for an evolutionary interpretation of FL heterogeneity, with potential future relevance for patient stratification and treatment selection.

5) "Evolutionary origin, founder effect, and geographical dissemination of F12-related hereditary angioedema (F12evoHAE)", led by Francesc Calafell. The F12evoHAE project aims to reconstruct the evolutionary origin, founder effect, and geographical dissemination of the F12 p.T328K variant, which is responsible for most cases of F12-associated hereditary angioedema. The overall objective is to date and localize the origin of this mutation and model its spread using whole-genome sequencing and haplotype and population analyses, in order to improve diagnostic strategies and detect underdiagnosed cases across different regions.