This proposal concerns research in the direction of finding string theory duals for gauge theories beyond the N = 4 universality class; theories that have genuinely less supersymmetry and unquenched flavor. Arguably, the next simplest example afterN= 4 SYM is N=2 SU(N_c) SYM coupled to N_f=2N_c fundamental hypermultiplets.The theory admits a Veneziano expansion of large N_c and large N_f, with N_f/N_c and `t Hooft coupling g^2 N_c kept fixed. The topological structure of large N diagrams motivates a general conjecture: the flavor‐singlet sector of a gauge theory in the Veneziano limit is dual to a closed string theory.In recent studies, we explored the chiral spectrum of protected operators of the theory and we found that the string dual is an eight dimensional sub‐critical background containing both an AdS_5 and an S^1 factor. Moreover, we mapped the gauge theory dilatation operator in the scalar sector to the Hamiltonian of a novel spin chain and addressed the question of its integrability.Continuing this line of research, we propose working towards further establishing this new paradigm of the N=2 superconfomal QCD. Moreover, by using the same tools, we propose searching for new, interesting for phenomenological applications, dual pairs. Finally, our intention is to apply these new AdS/CFT paradigms to phenomenologically related questions.