Cluster 1 Health

The Health Cluster covers the following 6 areas:

Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society
Living and working in a health-promoting environment
Tackling diseases and reducing disease burden
Ensuring access to innovative and high-quality health care
Unlocking the full potential of new tools, technologies and digital solutions
Maintaining an innovative, sustainable and globally competitive health industry

THE TEAM

Dr Martha Cahill

National Contact Point for Cluster 1 Health

Dr Patricia Clarke

National Delegate for Horizon Europe Cluster 1 - Health

Dr Irene Castellano Pellicena

National Contact Point for Cluster 1 – Health

Popular

The Health Cluster -Pillar 2

The Health Cluster -Pillar 2

Sep 1, 2020

Cluster 1 Health

Health is the focus of the cluster 1 area in Horizon Europe, the next research and innovation framework programme spanning from 2021 -2027

Navigating Europe’s Health Research Landscape: the essential newsletter for 2026 and beyond

Navigating Europe’s Health Research Land...

Jan 15, 2026

Cluster 1 Health

Europe is rapidly expanding investment in health research and innovation, creating major opportunities across Horizon Europe, IHI, the EIC and EU Missions. To help Ireland’s research community stay ahead, our health research funding newsletter offers a clear, structured overview of upcoming EU funding calls, key dates, events and collaboration resources—going far beyond a simple listing

Irish health researchers secure highest ever annual EU funding

Irish health researchers secure highest ...

Jul 5, 2022

Cluster 1 Health

Irish health researchers have secured just over €29.2 million from the 1st round of funding in Horizon Europe. Representing 3.27% of the entire available budget, this phenomenal success marks the largest Irish annual drawdown over any of the nine Framework Programmes to date.

Rehab patients set to benefit from ground-breaking remote service

Rehab patients set to benefit from groun...

Nov 6, 2024

Cluster 1 Health

Using pioneering technology, the Horizon 2020-funded Remote Rehabilitation Service for Isolated Areas (ROSIA) project aims to deliver rehabilitation services to patients in need, wherever they are. It also encourages patients to manage their own rehabilitation from home. Launched in 2021, ROSIA secured €1.7m and is a pre-commercial procurement (PCP) project.

GENEGUT project aims to transform treatment of ileal Crohn’s disease

GENEGUT project aims to transform treatm...

Sep 22, 2022

Cluster 1 Health

Professor Caitriona O’Driscoll of University College Cork (UCC) has successfully secured EU funding under Horizon Europe as coordinator of GENEGUT: a project on oral delivery of encapsulated RNA nanotherapeutics for targeted treatment of ileal Crohn’s disease.

Bio-based artificial lungs to change patients’ lives

Bio-based artificial lungs to change pat...

Sep 4, 2024

Cluster 1 Health

CellMembrane, a Horizon Europe project led by Irish medtech firm Smart Reactors, is developing a nanocellulose membrane that could transform the fortunes of those with lung disease around the world. “We’re taking woody plant matter, effectively like sawdust, processing it at a nanoscale level and building a scaffold that will act as an artificial lung,” explains Mark Brassil, Smart Reactor’s co-founder and CTO.

The Cancer Mission, Health Cluster, Horizon Europe

The Cancer Mission, Health Cluster, Hori...

Sep 2, 2020

Cluster 1 Health

The Cancer Mission will address the whole cancer continuum from prevention, diagnosis, treatment and quality of life.

Horizon Europe funding to support youth mental health

Horizon Europe funding to support youth ...

Sep 7, 2022

Cluster 1 Health

Three researchers have secured funding as partners in the Horizon Europe Health project ‘Youth-GEMs: Gene Environment interactions in Mental health trajectories of Youth’, which aims to significantly reduce mental suffering and illness among European youth.

Croom Medical at the cutting edge of Additive Manufactuing

Croom Medical at the cutting edge of Add...

Jul 17, 2024

Cluster 1 Health

Additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, is a groundbreaking technology that has significantly impacted various industries, including healthcare. Irish company Croom Medical is at the cutting edge, utilizing these advancements to produce custom orthopaedic implants. Discover how the company has grown into the AM market by participating in a EUREKA project.

European Partnership on Health Innovation

European Partnership on Health Innovatio...

Sep 3, 2020

Cluster 1 Health

The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) Partnership will be between EU represented by the European Commission and health related industries.

Irish researchers secure EU funding to develop AI-driven imaging for cancer surgery

Irish researchers secure EU funding to d...

Aug 22, 2022

Cluster 1 Health

A research project led by an Irish team and funded under the EU’s Horizon Europe programme is set to break new ground in clinically validating the use of AI-driven imaging and real-time decision support in cancer surgery.

Working out ways to tackle age-related muscle loss

Working out ways to tackle age-related m...

Feb 7, 2024

Cluster 1 Health

Sarcopenia, or age-related muscle loss, is a primary cause of loss of physical independence in the elderly, and the focus of one recent Horizon-funded research study. “The need for effective treatment strategies that can slow or reverse age-related muscle loss is essential if a future crisis is to be avoided,” says Dr Robert Radford, project lead of Pept-AGE at Nuritas.

Latest

Navigating Europe’s Health Research Landscape: the essential newsletter for 2026 and beyond

Navigating Europe’s Health Research Land...

Jan 15, 2026

Cluster 1 Health

Europe is rapidly expanding investment in health research and innovation, creating major opportunities across Horizon Europe, IHI, the EIC and EU Missions. To help Ireland’s research community stay ahead, our health research funding newsletter offers a clear, structured overview of upcoming EU funding calls, key dates, events and collaboration resources—going far beyond a simple listing

Ireland: A Nation of Strong Women — and Strong Research Ambitions

Ireland: A Nation of Strong Women — and ...

Nov 13, 2025

Cluster 1 Health

Ireland is a nation of strong women – leaders in our homes, communities, workplaces, and increasingly, in research and innovation. Yet, across Europe and beyond, women’s health remains under-researched and under-represented across many fields. As Horizon Europe enters its next phase, Ireland has both the opportunity and the responsibility to lead change.

Cluster 1 Health: Success, Funding Opportunities and Future Direction

Cluster 1 Health: Success, Funding Oppor...

Jul 10, 2025

Cluster 1 Health

Ireland has delivered an excellent performance in the first half of Horizon Europe (2021-2024), securing above €92m in funding from the Horizon Europe Health Cluster, including the Cancer Mission. This represents 2.5% of the total available budget.

The Irish health research community is actively collaborating with European colleagues across a wide range of health research areas.

Rehab patients set to benefit from ground-breaking remote service

Rehab patients set to benefit from groun...

Nov 6, 2024

Cluster 1 Health

Using pioneering technology, the Horizon 2020-funded Remote Rehabilitation Service for Isolated Areas (ROSIA) project aims to deliver rehabilitation services to patients in need, wherever they are. It also encourages patients to manage their own rehabilitation from home. Launched in 2021, ROSIA secured €1.7m and is a pre-commercial procurement (PCP) project.

Bio-based artificial lungs to change patients’ lives

Bio-based artificial lungs to change pat...

Sep 4, 2024

Cluster 1 Health

CellMembrane, a Horizon Europe project led by Irish medtech firm Smart Reactors, is developing a nanocellulose membrane that could transform the fortunes of those with lung disease around the world. “We’re taking woody plant matter, effectively like sawdust, processing it at a nanoscale level and building a scaffold that will act as an artificial lung,” explains Mark Brassil, Smart Reactor’s co-founder and CTO.

Croom Medical at the cutting edge of Additive Manufactuing

Croom Medical at the cutting edge of Add...

Jul 17, 2024

Cluster 1 Health

Additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, is a groundbreaking technology that has significantly impacted various industries, including healthcare. Irish company Croom Medical is at the cutting edge, utilizing these advancements to produce custom orthopaedic implants. Discover how the company has grown into the AM market by participating in a EUREKA project.

Artificial intelligence in Horizon Europe

Artificial intelligence in Horizon Europ...

Feb 18, 2024

Artificial Intelligence

The application of AI and AI research has featured significantly in Horizon Europe since the first call in 2021. In 2024, the EU commission then launched the GenerativeAI4EU initiative to stimulate the uptake of generative AI across all sectors. This will result in the deployment of €4bn worth of Horizon Europe funding being dedicated to generative AI projects across all sectors for the remainder of the programme.

Working out ways to tackle age-related muscle loss

Working out ways to tackle age-related m...

Feb 7, 2024

Cluster 1 Health

Sarcopenia, or age-related muscle loss, is a primary cause of loss of physical independence in the elderly, and the focus of one recent Horizon-funded research study. “The need for effective treatment strategies that can slow or reverse age-related muscle loss is essential if a future crisis is to be avoided,” says Dr Robert Radford, project lead of Pept-AGE at Nuritas.

Femtech Innovations – HIHI Femtech Call 2023 – closing date 17th November

Femtech Innovations – HIHI Femtech Call ...

Nov 3, 2023

Cluster 1 Health

Health Innovation Hub Ireland has launched its first call for Irish Femtech Innovations – HIHI Femtech Call 2023. Researchers or start-up with innovations for female healthcare are encouraged to apply. The call closes on 17th November 2023.

Recipe for success: securing funding for agri-food research

Recipe for success: securing funding for...

Jun 14, 2023

Cluster 1 Health

Recipe for success: securing funding for agri-food research. This project received €2.1 million from the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme, as part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Cofund programme, to support the creation of this postdoctoral fellowship scheme, with a further €3.1 million coming from Teagasc.

Changing the lives of patients with brain cancer

Changing the lives of patients with brai...

Apr 17, 2023

Cluster 1 Health

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive form of adult primary brain cancer, for which there is currently no cure. Discover how the team behind the GLIOTRAIN project won #Horizon2020 funding to tackle the disease.

Rockfield set to disrupt global tube feeding market

Rockfield set to disrupt global tube fee...

Mar 23, 2023

Cluster 1 Health

As a person with cystic fibrosis, Tomás Thompson was acutely aware of the challenges of tube feeding and how much they affected patients’ quality of life. “Over the past 40 years, lots of medical devices have changed hugely,” explains Thompson, founder, and CEO of Rockfield Medical Devices.