The whole ForMAT consortium in one room, in Kraków. On 7 and 8 October 2026, project partners met in person for the ForMAT consortium meeting, which the Jagiellonian University hosted. The aim was to look at where the project stands and to plan the work ahead as ForMAT moves through its second year.
What happened at the ForMAT consortium meeting
The meeting took place over two days. Each of the seven work packages had its own session on the agenda, and time for discussion followed each one. Partners from different laboratories and fields shared where their tasks stand and then talked through how the next stage fits together. The programme also left room for an open discussion on the second day, and for a working dinner on the first evening.
What ForMAT is working towards
ForMAT, short for Forensic Methylation Analysis Toolsets, aims to develop tools that use DNA methylation to support forensic work. DNA methylation is a chemical mark on DNA that changes over time and with biological processes. A plain language explanation is also available in ForMAT Explains: 5 Terms in Forensic Epigenetics.
The project’s planned application areas include age estimation, body-fluid and tissue identification in several forensic scenarios. The planned toolset includes four specialised kits, each at a different stage of development. As with any research in progress, preliminary work will be subject to validation before it can be considered for practice. Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation programme, funds ForMAT, and the official project record is on CORDIS.
Looking ahead
The partners now return to their laboratories with a shared plan for the next stage. Meanwhile, we will keep sharing what can be shared publicly, and you can find all project updates on our news page. Finally, our thanks go to the Jagiellonian University for hosting us, and to every partner who travelled to Kraków. To follow the project, join us on LinkedIn.
