"The ANISTEM project is aimed at creating a 4-years training and transfer of knowledge program between a Hungarian SME and a Dutch and a Hungarian University in the field of stem cell research in mammalians (rabbit, pig), which will open opportunities for a mutuallybeneficial long term partnership of veterinary and medical research and for applications between the industrial and academic participants. The scientific and industrial aim of ANISTEM is to generate new comparative information on the generation, maintenance and characteristics of induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells in rabbit and pig and on their differentiation towards the cardiac lineage. The physiology of cardiomyocytes from iPS cells from rabbit and pig will be compared and their ability to report drug responses faithfully will be investigated.The ANISTEM project links intersectorial research activities in SME and Academia in different mammalian and cellular systems. An interdisciplinary approach is needed using methods from cell biology, structural cell biology, developmental biology, molecular biology and finally bioinformatics. Training and transfer of knowledge activities are structured to ensure maximum efficiency in developing and exchanging new standards between industry and academia and to expose the participating researchers to different environments and schools of thoughts. The main impact of the project is expected to be in integrating efforts in stem cell biology, biomedical models and cell therapy between industry and academia for long term collaboration. Better stem cell differentiation protocols in mammalians will potentially allow for validation and development of iPS cells as highly desirable alternatives for live animals for drug testing, disease modeling and research on regenerative medicine."