Objective
Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disease which affects 100,000 people worldwide and is prevalent in European populations. CF causes the body to produce an abnormally sticky mucus in the lungs making patients susceptible to serious bacterial infection. By age 8, 50% of CF patients are infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa increasing to 80% by 20 years of age. Eventually, the infecting strains of bacteria become resistant to antibiotics and remain a chronic inhabitant of the lungs of CF patients until they succumb to respiratory failure, usually by the young age of 30-35. Approximately 60% of CF patients are co-infected with Burkholderia cenocepacia that settle into the thick mucus of the airways. These bacteria have evolved a special type of defence mechanism to antibiotics whereby they excrete a chemical messenger on treatment. This chemical messenger -Diffusible Signal Factor or DSF - activates bacterial biofilm formation. Previous work has shown that DSF effectively behaves as an ‘emergency flare’ to other bacteria, which produce a biofilm in response. This biofilm acts as a shield which protects the bacteria from the effects of antibiotics.
As a key fits in a lock, DSF fits into bacterial receptors and “switches on” biofilm formation. In this COMMANDEER project, we will synthesise molecules which mimic DSF and fit into the same biological receptors. However, due to subtle changes in their design, our molecules will “switch off” biofilm formation. Using this novel strategy of effectively commandeering the bacteria’s signalling system, we will disable biofilm formation, making the bacteria susceptible to antibiotics once again. We will adopt a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach combining the talents of chemists in Ireland and microbiologists in the UK. This project, therefore, represents a new and exciting route of circumventing bacterial resistance, offering significantly improved quality of life for CF patients and increased life expectancies.
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.
- social sciences sociology demography mortality
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules lipids
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug resistance antibiotic resistance
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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.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF
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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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2014
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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.
T12 YN60 Cork
Ireland
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.