Welcome to the PROBE Newsletter
As coordinators of PROBE, we’re delighted to share the first edition of the PROBE Newsletter with you. These bi-annual communications will provide regular updates on the project’s progress, milestones, and achievements, as well as upcoming events and deeper dives into key topics. We hope you find these newsletters both entertaining and informative, and we look forward to keeping you updated on PROBE’s advances in the years to come.
PROBE has come a long way in the last 6 months. We’ve kicked-off the project, launched the PROBE website, published our first PROBE publication, and attended several international events to share the PROBE vision for revolutionising OA research and care.
Our Mission
PROBE was officially launched on the 1st of December 2025 to revolutionise the way osteoarthritis (OA) is understood, diagnosed, and treated by developing patient-relevant endpoints, advanced predictive models, and next-generation clinical trial designs using federated big data and AI technologies. PROBE is a public-private partnership supported by the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (IHI JU), made up of leaders from academia, industry, patient organisations, regulatory bodies, and healthcare professionals from across Europe and beyond.
Our Consortium
Led by Erasmus University Medical Center (The Netherlands) and Novartis AG (Switzerland), PROBE brings together 39 partners from 15 countries. The Consortium is made up of 28 public entities, of which twenty-three are top-tier academic institutions or healthcare providers, three small- and medium-sized enterprises, one regulatory body, and one non-profit organization; and 11 industry leaders representing the (bio) pharmaceutical and the medical devices fields.
PROBE Kick-off Meeting
Following the launch, PROBE partners came together in Rotterdam in January for the Kick-off meeting. This was a great opportunity to get to know collaborators, align on working methods and expectations, and lay the groundwork for the coming years. A key takeaway from the meeting was the importance of strong collaboration and clear communication across all work packages to ensure success.
PROBE Website
The PROBE website has been updated and expanded to contain more information about the project, consortium, work packages, governance, and proposed impact on patients. We’ll be updating it regularly with PROBE News, Publications, Public Deliverables, and new sections.
PROBE at OARSI
PROBE hosted a special session at Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) World Congress 2026, exploring how cross-institutional collaboration and multimodal data sharing can accelerate breakthroughs.
In fact, taking advantage of the OARSI World Congress 2026, the first joint meeting between the PROBE SAB and Steering committee was held to kick-off the SAB’s work providing independent, strategic guidance to the project and ensure the correct scientific and methodological direction, clinical relevance and translational strategy, and sustainability or project outputs.
PROBE’s vision for privacy-preserving, multi-modal OA research was also presented at the International Workshop for Osteoarthritis Investigation 2026.
PROBE at IWOAI
We presented PROBE’s vision for privacy-preserving, multi-modal OA research at the 20th International Workshop for Osteoarthritis Investigation (IWOAI).
This session was essential for researchers, clinicians, pharma, and patients using PROBE’s network for OA studies, stratification, trials, biomarkers, and patient-centred tools.
Publications
PROBEs first peer-reviewed publication has been published in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. The comprehensive review, focused on the genetic component of OA and written by Work Package 4, has opened a path towards federated data integration, AI-driven stratification, and novel clinical trial endpoints.
Upcoming events
- World Osteoarthritis Day – 17th September 2026
- World Arthritis Day – 12th October 2026
