METASTRA General Assembly: Strong Progress and Clear Next Steps

Over two full days in Zaragoza, the METASTRA consortium came together for its third General Assembly. Despite the heat, the atmosphere was focused, collaborative, and energised by the clear progress the project had made.

The meeting began with remarks from project coordinator Prof. Luca Cristofolini (UNIBO), who set the tone with an overview of the achievements made so far and the next steps to be taken. Partners then moved into updates on project coordination, management, and ethical compliance.

Much of the first day was spent reviewing progress across work packages, from data harmonisation and retrospective study design (WP2), to the development of computational models (WP3), and the verification and validation strategies being applied (WP4). The presentations reflected how much work has gone into integrating technical development with clinical requirements, which remains a cornerstone of METASTRA's approach.

Later in the day, the discussion shifted toward clinical implementation and regulatory planning. Sessions on WP5 and WP6 highlighted the project's forward-looking orientation, with a clear focus on translating research into real-world use, including regulatory alignment and user experience design for the METASTRA decision support system.

The consortium also addressed how we communicate that impact. WP7 updates covered everything from communication and dissemination strategy to stakeholder engagement and exploitation planning. The need to make METASTRA’s outcomes visible to — clinicians, policymakers, and industry — was clear, and several ideas were exchanged on how to do this more effectively as we advance.

The second day was structured around technical deep dives. Smaller working groups discussed in detail the modelling workflows, data challenges, and validation strategies. These sessions offered room for hands-on coordination and direct exchange between technical and clinical teams, helping to align perspectives as the project enters its next phase.

As METASTRA continues its mission to improve fracture risk stratification in patients with vertebral metastases, this assembly confirmed one thing above all: the project is making great strides, and there’s strong momentum heading into the next stage.

We’re excited for what’s to come, and we’re grateful to all the partners for their continued commitment.