On 7 and 8 October 2025, the SYNTHIA consortium gathered in Budapest, Hungary, for its first General Assembly, a milestone moment marking one year of progress in building a trustworthy framework for synthetic data in healthcare. Hosted by GE HealthCare at the Radisson Blu Beke Hotel, the two-day meeting brought together all partners to reflect, exchange insights, and shape the next phase of SYNTHIA’s journey.

 Day 1 – Setting the Stage for Future Innovations 

The assembly opened with welcoming remarks from IIS La Fe and GE HealthCare, followed by a keynote by Dr. András Horváth from Pázmány Péter University, who shared his research perspectives on digital health innovation. The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) then provided an update on the broader European health innovation landscape, situating SYNTHIA’s work within ongoing collaborative efforts.

A comprehensive Year 1 update from the coordination and communication teams highlighted the project’s achievements and growth, leading into a session that gave voice to the patient perspective on synthetic data, presented by Patvocates.

The morning continued with a deep dive into synthetic data generation methods, featuring illustrative applications from partners across GE HealthCare, University of Bologna, CHUV, LUMC, Fraunhofer, and BSC. The expert panel explored diverse approaches, from tumor synthesis and diffusion models to neural SDEs and DNA dataset generation, emphasizing innovation, quality, and privacy.

In the afternoon, discussions turned to real-world data and its integration within clinical environments, followed by sessions on the SYNTHIA platform, exploring its value propositions, user needs, and technical insights. Presentations from Gates Ventures, i~HD, EMBL, and UPM showcased ongoing developments in federated learning and the platform’s architecture.

 

 

Day 2 – From Validation to Vision

Moderated by Pfizer and Fraunhofer, the second day opened with a keynote by Dr. István Peták, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Genomate and Co-founder of Oncompass Medicine. 

Sessions focused on validating SYNTHIA’s use cases, addressing data quality, privacy, and clinical evaluation — key pillars for ensuring reliable synthetic data. Regulatory and health technology assessment perspectives, led by NICE and Pfizer, explored how trust can be built across the healthcare ecosystem.

Further sessions on data protection, led by University of Vienna, outlined the project’s Data Protection Impact Assessment framework and data sharing agreements. The communications and policy team, represented by MATICAL and EAPM, presented updates on dissemination and policy engagement, reinforcing the importance of collective outreach.

A lively discussion on sustainability, guided by i~HD, invited all partners to reflect on how to future-proof SYNTHIA’s outputs beyond the project lifetime — ensuring lasting impact across research, policy, and clinical domains.

The assembly closed with a forward-looking roadmap for the next phase of SYNTHIA, setting clear priorities for continued collaboration and innovation

The SYNTHIA consortium extends its warm thanks to GE HealthCare for hosting and organising this year’s General Assembly in Budapest. Their dedication and hospitality created an inspiring setting for productive discussions, collaboration, and a shared vision for the future of synthetic data in healthcare.

Looking Ahead

The SYNTHIA General Assembly 2025 was more than a meeting — it was a reaffirmation of the consortium’s shared mission: to unlock the potential of synthetic data in personalized medicine while safeguarding trust, privacy, and quality. The discussions, collaborations, and ideas born in Budapest will continue to guide SYNTHIA’s work toward building a sustainable, impactful, and ethical data future.