The CoMOVE Project is One of the ENLIGHT 2025 Call Winners!

We are excited to announce that the CoMOVE Project, with a team from the UG in participation, has been selected as one of the 2025 ENLIGHT Call winners! This project aims to explore the critical role of motor development (0-4 years) in the early identification of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Find out more about CoMOVE and the people behind it below!

What is the main goal of the project? Who are your collaborative partners?

CoMOVE is a collaborative, interdisciplinary expert network focused on the critical role of motor development (0-4 years) in the early identification of neurodevelopmental disorders. 

CoMOVE members are DR Lynn Bar-On from Ghent University, Dr Kine Johansen from Uppsala University, Dr. Suzanne Houwen from the faculty of behavioural and social sciences of the University of Groningen and Dr. Kirsten Heineman from the department of developmental neurology, UMCG, University of Groningen. 

The goals of CoMOVE are the following:  

1. Establish a sustainable, interdisciplinary expert network on early motor development and its role in the early identification of NDDs. 

2. Launch the CoMOVE webinar series, an open-access platform promoting interdisciplinary knowledge-sharing among clinicians, students and researchers.    

3. Conduct a multi-country mapping review of developmental surveillance policies and follow-up practices for infants with a high likelihood of NDDs in multiple European countries, identifying convergence, divergence, and opportunities for innovation and harmonisation of developmental surveillance policies and follow-up practices.  

4. Organize an international hybrid European conference to disseminate the mapping findings, and to launch a strategic roadmap for future education, research, and policy development.  

What inspired this project idea?

We have worked together on a European funding application before, and as we are all four very interested in and passionate about the same research topic, namely early motor development and its predictive role for later neurodevelopmental disorders, we decided to formalize our collaboration in CoMOVE and pursue further collaborative projects. 

Why is this international collaboration essential to your work?

It is very interesting to start with mapping clinical practices in child follow-up in three European countries.

How did the collaboration come together?

We were part of a larger consortium before and decided to keep it a bit smaller and more connected for this Enlight project.

What impact do you expect this project will have for the University of Groningen and the ENLIGHT network?

Does your project connect to other research, teaching or outreach activities you are involved in?

Yes, definitely. It closely fits with my other research topics and projects in Developmental Neurology Groningen, such as the BIRD project (Biomarkers in Infants at Risk for Developmental disorders) which is a close collaboration with Accare Child Study Center.

What's next?

Hopefully, our CoMOVE collaboration and the Enlight project will be a stepping stone for larger joint European grant applications.

The team at the UG:

• Dr. Suzanne Houwen, Associate Professor, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences of the University of Groningen
• Dr. Kirsten Heineman, Assistant Professor, Department of Developmental Neurology, UMCG, University of Groningen

We are happy for the CoMOVE team and are excited for the outcomes of this project!