Objective
Microbes form intricate communities where multiple strains and species communicate cooperate and compete, they can cause life-threatening diseases and destroy our food sources. Metabolism is key to these interactions, yet the way microbes acquire and utilise nutrients is often overlooked in evolutionary studies of pathogenicity, virulence and antibiotic resistance. I will address this by quantifying how microbial community composition is determined by the metabolism, genetics and physiology of individual players, establishing principles by which microbial composition affects virulence and antimicrobial resistance.
Competition for resources is the most basic of ecological interactions, fundamental because one cell directly impacts the fitness of others. It is only by incorporating nutrient acquisition and utilisation into studies of virulence and antibiotic resistance that we can predict, and ultimately control, the evolutionary response of microbes to resource stresses, antimicrobials and host defences. I will address two outstanding problems:
Challenge one: Pathogens must acquire nutrients from their hosts, but what combination of different resource acquisition and utilisation strategies maximise population success and, therefore, virulence?
Challenge two: Antibiotics can perturb the composition of polymicrobial communities from susceptible to resistant species but how is this shift mediated by resource utilisation strategies?
Fully integrating empirical data and theory, concepts from ecology and evolutionary dynamics will be key. We will formulate new theoretical tools that allow us to make predictions that will be fully challenged by data, both in vitro and in vivo. This research will exploit advances in the molecular genetics of important plant and human pathogens and we will use them to synthesise polymorphic microbial populations and polymicrobial communities. We will dissect these to understand what makes microbials so resilient to the challenges they face.
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 molecular biology molecular genetics
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug resistance antibiotic resistance
- natural sciences mathematics applied mathematics mathematical model
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
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.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
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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.
(opens in new window) ERC-2014-CoG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
EX4 4QJ Exeter
United Kingdom
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.