Objective
Chlamydia trachomatis is a leading cause of sexually transmitted disease - with reported prevalence rates of up to 17% among asymptomatic women in Europe - and as such a frequent cause of infertility. While these bacteria have been known for more than a decade to protect infected cells from apoptosis, the lack of tools for genetic manipulation of chlamydiae significantly hampered the investigation of underlying molecular mechanisms and their role during infection. Yet, the research group of Dr. Valdivia (outgoing host) has recently established a unique system to perform forward genetics in chlamydiae, and in course of the proposed project Dr. Sixt (the fellow candidate) will be among the first researchers able to learn and exploit these techniques. In this process, she will first recover mutant C. trachomatis strains that display a reduced potential to block apoptosis. This will subsequently enable her to identify bacterial anti-apoptotic factors and to study the significance of Chlamydia-mediated cell death modulation in a murine infection model. Finally, she will assess the effect of interference with the anti-apoptotic trait on the immunogenic potential of dying host cells, based on the detection of specific cellular “immunogenicity predictors” that were recently identified by the group of Dr. Kroemer (European return host). This multidisciplinary investigation will provide invaluable insights into chlamydial virulence and will help to predict whether the anti-apoptotic trait may be a potential new drug target. The project offers Dr. Sixt extensive training that is highly complementary to her previous research experiences. The acquired skills, international experience, and newly established contacts will place her in an excellent position to take a leading role in the further development of this scientific field and will enable her to implement infection biology at the European return host institute, which will further expand the institute’s areas of excellence.
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
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology genetic engineering
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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.
FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IOF
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.
Coordinator
75654 PARIS
France
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.