Objective
Multidrug-resistant bacteria are a global threat to public health and the economy. Studies in model organisms suggest compensatory evolution and epistatic interactions between drug resistance-conferring mutations are important drivers of drug resistance. However, the relevance of these factors for the emergence and transmission of human pathogenic bacteria has not been established. To bridge the gap between laboratory experimentation and epidemiology, I propose a multidisciplinary approach focusing on Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiologic agent of human tuberculosis (TB). Specifically, I shall combine experimental evolution and fitness assays in vitro and in human macrophages with comparative genome sequencing, RNAseq-based transcriptomics, and population-based molecular epidemiology to:
1) Identify and characterize compensatory mutations in M. tuberculosis resistant to rifampicin, streptomycin, and ofloxacin;
2) Detect epistasis between drug resistance-conferring mutations in different strain genetic backgrounds;
3) Investigate the effect of drug resistance-conferring mutations, compensatory mutations, and their epistatic interactions on the M. tuberculosis transcriptome.
The strength of my approach lies in the integration of an experimentally tractable model system (Mycobacterium smegmatis) with targeted validation experiments in clinically relevant M. tuberculosis, and comprehensive molecular epidemiological data collected prospectively in Georgia, a country with a high-burden of multidrug-resistant TB.
Through its multidisciplinary nature, this project will simultaneously test predictions from ecological theory and experimental models, generate new insights into the biology and epidemiology of multidrug-resistant TB, and ultimately contribute to the control of one of humankind’s most important infectious 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: 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.
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health epidemiology
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug resistance
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine pneumology tuberculosis
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
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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
4123 ALLSCHWIL
Switzerland
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.