Under the patronage of Prof. Dr. Mohamed Rashad Abdel Fattah, Acting Director of the Scientific Research and Technological Applications City (SRTA City), and Prof. Dr. Abeer El-Sayed Abdel Wahab, Dean of the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute at SRTA City, and under the chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Nehal Mohamed El-Deeb, Head of the Pharmaceutical Bioproducts Department at the Institute, and as part of efforts to support international scientific cooperation and advance research on sustainability, food security, and water security in the Mediterranean Basin, Prof. Dr. Amr Salah Morsi, Dean of the Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute at SRTA City, inaugurated, on behalf of Prof. Dr. Mohamed Rashad Abdel Fattah, Acting Director of SRTA City, the activities of the First International Workshop of the “Mush-Med” and “WaterMellon” Projects, funded by the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA), in cooperation with Bursa Technical University (Türkiye) and the University of Messina (Italy).

The workshop was held at SRTA City from 5 to 6 October 2026, under the theme:

“From Bioactive Compounds and Healthy Nutrition to Resilient Agriculture and Sustainable Water Management”

The workshop was attended by the deans of SRTA City’s research institutes, a distinguished group of faculty members and researchers from various universities and research centers, postgraduate students, as well as numerous experts and specialists in the fields of medicine, pharmacy, science, agriculture, and biotechnology.

Prof. Dr. Mohamed Rashad Abdel Fattah emphasized that organizing this workshop represents an exceptional scientific event, as it is the first time that the activities and outcomes of two international Euro-Mediterranean projects are brought together simultaneously. This reflects SRTA City’s leading position as a regional center of research excellence. He noted that this integration among projects funded by the PRIMA Programme aims to unify visions and efforts to address transboundary environmental and climate challenges by providing innovative and comprehensive solutions that combine healthy nutrition, sustainable agriculture, and smart water-resource management.

Prof. Dr. Nehal Mohamed El-Deeb noted that the workshop primarily focuses on maximizing the utilization of bioactive compounds and their extraction from fungal and natural resources to develop functional foods that promote overall health and immunity. The workshop also addresses resilient agricultural practices and water-harvesting technologies to ensure the integration of research outputs into food and industrial value chains in support of Mediterranean communities.

The workshop and training programme featured a comprehensive series of scientific lectures and practical sessions delivered by a distinguished group of experts and academics from Egypt, Italy, Türkiye, Malaysia, and Portugal. The lectures focused on the latest technologies and innovations in functional foods derived from mushrooms and their role in promoting health and immunity, in addition to exploring bioeconomy strategies, industrial bioprocessing, and the valorization of agricultural waste to achieve environmental sustainability.

The programme also highlighted recent developments in digital transformation applications for water management and sustainable agriculture in the Mediterranean Basin. In addition, practical training sessions were conducted covering extraction protocols, laboratory safety, and the assessment of the immunological effects of bioactive compounds.

In this context, Prof. Dr. Mohamed Rashad Abdel Fattah, Principal Investigator of the “Innovative Agricultural Systems Coupled with Water-Harvesting Technologies to Combat Severe Drought in the Mediterranean Region, Including Salt- and Drought-Tolerant Species (WaterMellon)” project, explained that SRTA City’s participation in the project, in partnership with scientific institutions from 11 Euro-Mediterranean countries, aims to address environmental challenges and water scarcity by enhancing the capacity of dryland agriculture to adapt to climate change.

This will be achieved through the integration of water-harvesting technologies, modern water- and fertilizer-efficient irrigation techniques, and organic fertilizers with resilient agricultural systems and salt- and drought-tolerant crops. He added that the project aims to achieve sustainable food and feed production while supporting small-scale farmers through low-cost technical solutions that can increase productivity and profitability.

Furthermore, the scientific team at SRTA City, led and coordinated by Prof. Dr. Nehal El-Deeb, secured the research project entitled “Transition towards Healthy Mediterranean Functional Food through the Integration of Mushroom Proteins and Beta-Glucans (Mush-Med)”, in partnership with academic and scientific institutions from three Euro-Mediterranean countries.

The project seeks to revive healthy and sustainable dietary practices in Mediterranean communities and address common health challenges among young people, such as diabetes, obesity, and weakened immunity resulting from reliance on fast food.

The project aims to utilize biotechnology to extract active compounds from oyster mushrooms, particularly mushroom proteins and immunomodulatory beta-glucans, and incorporate them as safe functional ingredients into baked goods and everyday plant-based products. This contributes to helping the body overcome the effects of health-related stress and translating scientific research outputs into food products that restore the strength of the Mediterranean diet while providing sustainable preventive benefits and enhancing quality of life.