Objective
AGEing is a complex phenotype responsive to a plethora of ENVIRONmental inputs (ENVIRONAGE). Age related conditions in adults often find their origin in risk factors operative in early life. The molecular mechanisms behind these phenomena remain largely unknown. Mitochondria are involved in a variety of critical cell functions, including oxidative energy production and programmed cell death. Recently, I established in a study of 175 newborns, a strong association between mitochondrial DNA content and in utero exposure to particulate air pollution. Telomere length is highly heritable and erosion leads to an increasingly vulnerable structural integrity of the chromosomes. It is considered a marker of overall biological age compared with chronological age. In this regard, I demonstrated the heritability of telomere length and the influence of smoking on telomere erosion. These results support the ENVIRONAGE hypothesis, i.e. that environmental inputs influence biomolecular markers of ageing including mitochondrial function, telomere length along with DNA repair and epigenetics as the ‘core axis of ageing’. The aim is to establish prospective epidemiological evidence for molecular mechanisms or early biomarkers, which may underlie the origins or reflect the risk of age-related diseases and to understand its association with other processes and the influence of environmental factors. To this end, I will establish a birth cohort and a cohort in middle-aged and elderly. I measure environmental pollutants, in interaction with parameters that I consider to have an important role in the ageing process (mitochondrial function, telomere length, epigenetics and DNA repair capacity). ENVIRONAGE integrates environmental influences and molecular mechanisms on ageing. The common molecular epidemiological strategies in newborns, middle-aged and elderly to unravel the environmental influence on ageing are groundbreaking.
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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- engineering and technology environmental engineering air pollution engineering
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences pollution
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics chromosomes
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics epigenetics
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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-2012-StG_20111109
See other projects for this call
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
3500 Hasselt
Belgium
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.