Anna Rizzo is a Research Project Manager at Datawizard in Italy. Her current expertise in dissemination and exploitation for EU-funded projects, particularly related to e-health, draws from a combined academic and professional background in biology, data science and science journalism.
As part of our new series of interviews with GenoMed4All partners, Anna reflects on the role she’s had during the project, her contributions and main learnings, and her expectations for the project’s impact after it’s officially completed in June 2025.
Work package leadership and interdisciplinary collaborations
As a healthcare IT company with a strong focus on telemedicine applications and data standardisation, at Datawizard we’ve had the privilege of contributing to both the early and final phases of the project.
Our involvement began with data modelling, gathering requirements from clinicians and technical partners and translating those needs into functional and technical specifications for the GenoMed4All platform. One of the core challenges was selecting a coherent data model that could support the complex needs of the project, alongside harmonising and standardising diverse data sources.
We also worked closely with the clinical partners to support the characterisation of data flows across the project; this was essential for ensuring ethical and legal compliance, particularly under the GDPR, and towards the final phase we’ve also been focused on aligning our work with emerging frameworks like the EU AI Act and the technical standards being developed by bodies such as CEN-CENELEC.
Another key contribution was supporting the exploitation strategy. At Datawizard, we operate at the intersection of research and market implementation. We’re not only committed to advancing innovation at the European level but also to turning those innovations into usable products for hospitals and industry, particularly in telemedicine. In GenoMed4All, we took on the role of bridging the gap between research and the market; we’ve worked with partners to review project outcomes, identify potential use cases, and support efforts to give those results a life beyond the project — whether through further research, new funding opportunities, or early-stage market pathways.
Impact on precision medicine for hematology
One of the most common challenges with EU-funded research is that excellent work often remains confined within project boundaries. We’ve tried to counter that by helping bring GenoMed4All innovations closer to real-world application — or, as we like to say, closer to the patient’s bedside.
One major advantage has been our strong connection to ERN-EuroBloodNet, the European Reference Network for Rare Hematological Diseases. Through this collaboration, we’ve been able to ensure wider dissemination, support training programmes and, most importantly, lay the groundwork for the GenoMed4All platform’s sustainability.
Two new networks are currently being developed as part of the project’s legacy. The first, led by Vall d’Hebron Research Institute, focuses on non-oncological hematological conditions like Sickle Cell Disease; the second, led by Humanitas Research Hospital, is dedicated to hematological cancers. These networks will act as central nodes, connecting clinical centres with academic and private-sector partners who are developing AI-driven decision support tools.
The goal is to enable those partners to refine and validate their solutions using high-quality clinical data from the network. If we succeed, this will represent a major step forward in advancing precision medicine in hematology.
The legacy of GenoMed4All going forward
From the beginning, we understood that the GenoMed4All platform wasn’t meant to become a commercial product. Its value lies in its structure, its collaborative ecosystem, and the quality of its data. That’s why we’ve agreed within the consortium that the platform’s long-term stewardship should rest with ERN-EuroBloodNet and the clinical centres involved. They are best positioned to ensure continued research, support solution development, and train the next generation of tools and professionals.
This handover represents both an honour and a responsibility for the clinical centres. But with the support of the consortium and the broader ERN-EuroBloodNet community, it also marks the beginning of a federated research network in clinical AI. That, to me, is one of GenoMed4All’s most important achievements.
Main takeaways from this 4-year journey
There are always lessons to be learned from working on exploitation. One recurring challenge is getting partners, especially those from academia, to engage with the idea of exploitation. Many are focused on publishing results and advancing research, which is entirely valid, but they often have little experience or comfort with the concept of valorising those outcomes beyond academia.
This disconnect extends to relationships between academia, clinical centres, and industry. These groups often operate with very different goals and expectations. But for exploitation to succeed, we need to understand who the future users and buyers of our solutions might be — whether hospitals, companies or funding agencies.
Even when solutions are still at an early technology readiness level, we should think ahead: What does success look like beyond the lab or the pilot? Who might benefit from this innovation, and how can we bring them into the conversation early? That kind of forward-thinking is essential if we want our research to have a real impact, and I hope it’s a mindset we continue to cultivate across EU-funded projects.