The First TEAR-Precision Newsletter Is Here

We are pleased to invite you to register for the First Annual Meeting of the TEAR-Precision COST Action, taking place in Maastricht, The Netherlands, on 26–28 March 2026.

Please register via the online form on the event webpage by 31 January 2026.

Our Action was officially launched with the Kick-off Management Committee Meeting in Brussels on 21 October 2025, marking the beginning of a four-year international collaboration funded by the COST Association. The meeting was attended exclusively by officially nominated Management Committee (MC) members, representing their COST Member Countries, as this initial meeting focused on setting up the core scientific and organisational structure of the Action.

Advancing tear fluid biomarkers towards clinical use requires coordination, shared standards, and close collaboration across disciplines and countries. To address these needs, the TEAR-Precision COST Action (CA24112) brings together a multidisciplinary European network working to harmonise methodologies, share knowledge, and accelerate translation into precision medicine.

The Action is structured into eight Working Groups, each focusing on a key scientific or translational challenge in tear fluid research.

The Action officially entered its first Grant Period on 1 November 2025 (running until October 2026). Since then, activities across TEAR-Precision have already started, with Working Groups initiating their first discussions and planning their scientific tasks, while the Management Committee and Core Group meet regularly to coordinate the Action’s strategic and organizational activities.

We are organizing the first in-person COST Action TEAR-Precision meeting, taking place 26–28 March 2026 in the magical city of Maastricht, the Netherlands. During the meeting, all task forces, working groups, and interest groups will have dedicated sessions to present their work, write together, and brainstorm future directions.

As part of the TEAR-Precision COST Action, several funding opportunities are available to support networking, collaboration, and capacity building across the Action. These include Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) and Conference Grants, designed to foster collaboration between members, facilitate research visits, and support participation in relevant international conferences.

The first grant calls are expected to open soon. All members are encouraged to start preparing potential applications, and we particularly ask senior researchers to share these opportunities with their PhD students and postdocs.

An overview of all available grants, eligibility rules, and application procedures is available on our website.

If you are wondering about the relationship between the Tear Research Network (TRN) and the TEAR-Precision COST Action, we have prepared a clear overview explaining how these two initiatives complement each other. Both Tear Research Network and TEAR-Precision share a common goal of advancing tear fluid research and building a strong, collaborative community. Participation in both initiatives is encouraged, and we warmly recommend getting involved in each to benefit from their complementary activities and opportunities.

We launched an open TEAR-Precision Logo Design Contest, inviting creative minds to help shape the visual identity of our COST Action for the coming four years. Participation was open to Action members as well as the wider community, including researchers, clinicians, students, designers, and others interested in tear fluid research or precision medicine.

We received several logo proposals, and the Core Group is now working together with professional web designers to refine and finalise the visual identity of TEAR-Precision.

This newsletter is primarily intended for members of the TEAR-Precision COST Action, and we would appreciate your help in sharing information about the Action within your professional networks. Once the TEAR-Precision logo and visual identity are finalised in February, we will provide ready-to-use dissemination materials (email templates, short texts, and flyers) to support broader outreach.

We would also very much welcome any ideas or suggestions on how best to promote TEAR-Precision and increase the visibility of this COST Action. We also warmly encourage you to share updates on your activities and outputs (e.g. Working Group activities, events, publications, presentations). Please feel free to get in touch with our Science Communication Coordinator, Jitka Čejková, at tear.precision@gmail.com if you have thoughts, ideas, or initiatives you would like to share.

Our next newsletter will reach a wider scientific and clinical audience. To tell the story of how TEAR-Precision is developing, we warmly welcome your news, activities, and updates.