STATUS
Ongoing project
STARTING/ENDING
2026-2028
FUNDING
Public; Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) – Bridge2Horizon
STREMBLE’S ROLE
Bioinformatics leader
ABOUT VECTORGUARD
VECTORGUARD is an 18-month project funded by Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) through the ‘Bridge2Horizon’ scheme.
Airborne agricultural pathogens present a significant risk to food production systems and are the most challenging to detect and eradicate with current approaches and technologies. VECTORGUARD is a new paradigm shift where disease vectors will be detected in real-time through continuous, automatic and inexpensive environmental air testing at the point of need. Such an advancement in agricultural disease vector interception would revolutionize the way entire national and continental disease defence plans could be designed and implemented, giving for the first time a meaningful timeframe to farmers, veterinary scientists and government agencies to defend against the spread of aggressive and high-impact airborne pathogens.
The aim of this project will be to advance the development of a functional proof-of-concept prototype, in order to demonstrate the design and integration of the chosen technologies and their operation. The new prototype will also undergo standardisation and validation for each component and aspect of the detection process to ensure accuracy and reliability. The project focuses on a new collaboration between two Cypriot research and development companies to drive forward the technical innovation of this product and provide leadership for a Horizon Europe proposal with an international consortium to further progress the technology.
The improvements to the design and functionality of the pathogen detection device will significantly elevate the technology readiness level of the product to a level (TRL5) that is suitable for field testing and real-world deployment. It will further provide a solid basis for attracting new funding and investment in the final product, which can be modified to different use cases for further TRL development and penetration of relevant vertical markets.
CONSORTIUM
