Objective
The aim of this network is to meet two major challenges within the EC. Firstly, to dissect and exploit mechanisms, which relate dietary input to health, and secondly to train scientists in an interdisciplinary and intersectorial fusion of post-genomic arenas. Nutrigenomics aims to dissect mechanisms conjoining dietary factors to physiological function and pathological syndromes, such as cancer and osteoporosis. These and other aging-related syndromes remain poorly understood, but it is agreed that diet impacts both their incidence and prevention.
Central to the bodies ability to perceive and respond to dietary signals is the nuclear receptor (NR) super-family of ligand-activated transcription factors, which respond to a range of macro- and micronutrients. Thu s NRs act as nutrient sensors and play a central role in the dietary effects on the genome during aging and disease development. To unite the actions of multiple signalling pathways, NucSys will combine inter-sectorial perspectives of NR biology and apply inter-disciplinary expertise. Critical amongst these will be the application of systems biology (SB) skills to comprehensively model actions. SB has emerged as a key mathematical approach to generate a unified paradigm for predicting the multitude of processes i n a living cell.
Key to realizing the originality and pertinence of the research objectives is the "flow through" between partners of activities, personnel, reagents and expertise, which in turn is ensured by the delivery of the training objectives. The collected technical expertise in the network ranges from modelling and bio-informatics to creation of inducible gene knockouts in mice and covers the most important areas of modern biosciences. The divergent partner institutions, ranging from universities an d research institutes to commercial settings, including a SME, will provide an ideal ground for a broad practical and theoretical training of early stage researchers in the field of SB and nutrigenomics.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteinsproteomics
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologyvirology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculeslipids
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculescarbohydrates
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsgenomes
Call for proposal
FP6-2004-MOBILITY-1
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