Objective
The worldwide aging population will lead to a dramatic increase in the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other incurable age-related neurodegenerative diseases over the next few decades. By 2050 over 115 million are expected to suffer from these devastating diseases. The major pathological hallmark of these disorders is the accumulation of aggregation-prone disease proteins in aggregates in the brain. To understand the disease mechanisms and to identify targets for treatment, I aim to uncover the cellular pathways that regulate disease-protein toxicity and aggregation (proteotoxicity).
Opening up such exciting new avenues for research is our recent identification of a modifier of aggregation, which we named MOAG-4, as a general regulator of age-related proteotoxicity in worm (C. elegans) models for neurodegenerative diseases. MOAG-4 and its human counterpart SERF act independently of classical pathways that degrade proteins or prevent their aggregation, but their molecular role remains to be determined. I hypothesize that MOAG-4/SERF represents a new regulatory pathway of age-related proteotoxicity in neurodegenerative diseases.
With an ERC starting grant, I will uncover the pathway in which MOAG-4/SERF is operating, establish the mechanism by which the pathway regulates proteotoxicity, establish the evolutionarily conservation of the pathway in human cells, and establish its potential as a therapeutic target in patient-derived cells. By combining the power of C. elegans genetics with the development of cell-biological tools to visualize and monitor aggregation and toxicity in living and aging worms and in patient-derived cells, we will be at the forefront of providing new insights into disease-mechanisms. Our discoveries will offer new starting points for research and for the development of therapeutic interventions in the early molecular events of aging-associated neurodegenerative diseases.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology dementia alzheimer
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2011-StG_20101109
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Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
9713 GZ Groningen
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.