Erasmus+ 2025. The project, entitled ECOLE – ExerCise OncoLogy spEcialist

A new and prestigious European recognition for the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, which has been awarded a project funded by the Erasmus+ 2025 programme. The project, entitled ECOLE – ExerCise OncoLogy spEcialist, aims to define and develop a new professional figure at European level: the Exercise Oncology Specialist, a specialist dedicated to supporting cancer patients through personalized physical exercise programs, in all phases of the treatment pathway.

The initiative was born within the Integrated Breast Therapies Unit, belonging to the Gemelli Breast Surgery Unit, in collaboration with Moduslab srl, and is based on a multidisciplinary approach that integrates academic, clinical and rehabilitation skills. The scientific coordination of the project is entrusted to Professor Beatrice Abalasei, Dean of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport of the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi (Romania).

Alongside the Gemelli Polyclinic, the project involves the University of Rome Foro Italico and the Institut Rafael in Paris, confirming its European scope.

For the first time receiving Erasmus+ funding at this level, the project is coordinated by Drs. Cristina Rossi and Claudia Maggiore, of the U.O.S. of Integrated Therapies in Senology of the Gemelli, under the supervision of Professor Gianluca Franceschini, Professor of General Surgery at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Director of the UOC of Breast Surgery and of the Integrated Breast Center of the Gemelli Polyclinic Foundation IRCCS, and Dr. Stefano Magno, Director of the Integrated Therapies in Senology Unit of the Gemelli Polyclinic.

"This project," explains Dr. Rossi, "was born from the collaboration between international teams with complementary academic skills, on the one hand kinesiologists expert in adapted physical activity, on the other oncologists and integrated oncology professionals. The figure of the Exercise Oncology Specialist responds to a still unmet need of cancer patients: to be accompanied on a truly personalized and safe path of physical activity".

The project was officially launched with the kick-off meeting held in Iași on 4 and 5 December 2025, which brought together representatives of the different partner centers. Among the first activities planned is the launch of a pilot course aimed at kinesiologists interested in specializing in Exercise Oncology and oncologists who wish to deepen the criteria of prescription appropriateness of physical exercise in the field of oncology.

With a total funding of 250,000 euros, ECOLE will end in October 2027 with an international event hosted by the Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, dedicated to the role and development of this new professional figure. The project also aims to create an international network of continuous learning, fostering the sharing of experiences and good practices and promoting integrated care models that recognize the clinical value of physical activity in oncology.

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