The European research project Mentoring for Health, coordinated by IMDEA Nutrition, was one of the projects participating in the EIC Pathfinder Precision Nutrition Portfolio meeting, held in Madrid on 19-20 February 2026.
Hosted at the headquarters of IMDEA Nutrition, the event brought together leading European research initiatives working at the forefront of precision nutrition, a rapidly evolving field that aims to develop personalised nutritional strategies based on biological, metabolic and lifestyle data.
The meeting formed part of the EIC Pathfinder Challenge programme of the European Innovation Council, which supports visionary research projects capable of transforming scientific knowledge into innovative solutions with real societal and economic impact.
Strengthening collaboration in Precision Nutrition
The event gathered the eight European research projects that make up the EIC Precision Nutrition Portfolio, fostering collaboration between scientists, innovators and industry stakeholders working to advance personalised approaches to health and nutrition.
Precision nutrition represents a major shift from traditional “one-size-fits-all” dietary recommendations. By integrating genomics, metabolomics, microbiome research, artificial intelligence and advanced data analysis, researchers aim to better understand how individual biological differences influence nutritional responses and disease risk.
Within this context, Mentoring for Health contributes to the portfolio by exploring how precision nutrition can improve metabolic health and quality of life in patients with lung cancer. The project combines multi-omics technologies, artificial intelligence and clinical data to develop personalised nutritional strategies that support patient care.
Another project with strong participation from Madrid-based institutions, including IMDEA Nutrition, is DiBaN, which explores innovative nutrients and predictive models to help address type 2 diabetes.
Other projects in the portfolio — including Fibre-Match, Bugs4Urate, Glucotypes, NUTRIMMUNE, InteractHoMiG and NutriEV — address complementary challenges, ranging from the interaction between dietary fibre and the gut microbiome to immune responses and extracellular vesicles in nutrition.
Connecting research and industry
A key focus of the meeting was the translation of scientific research into real-world applications. The programme included scientific presentations, a panel discussion on innovation and technology transfer, and matchmaking sessions connecting researchers with industry representatives.
These sessions facilitated bilateral discussions between project teams and companies from sectors such as functional ingredients, clinical nutrition, biotechnology, digital health and food innovation, helping identify opportunities for collaboration and future development.
Companies participating in the B2B sessions included the Madrid Agri-Food Cluster, Supracafé, Tecnalia Ventures, Natac, KM0 Food Innovation Hub and the startup Microsei Biotech, joined by Abbott, Persan Farma, Pascual, InsudFarma and Smileat.
As highlighted during the meeting, initiatives like the Precision Nutrition Portfolio demonstrate how collaboration between research institutions, healthcare organisations, industry and innovation ecosystems across Europe can accelerate the development of solutions capable of improving health outcomes and addressing some of today’s most pressing chronic diseases.
