Project description
Untangling macromolecule organisation in cells
Understanding how cells function and interact at a physical level requires insight into their mechanical properties, structural organisation, and responses to external forces and stimuli. These are investigated by the multidisciplinary field of cell physics by combining principles from physics, biology and engineering. Funded by the European Research Council, the THREEDCELLPHYSICS project is interested in DNA-protein networks within cells. Researchers will study the spatial organisation of DNA, chromosomes and proteins in the crowded environment of both healthy and diseased cells. They will also use computational simulations and experimental data to faithfully simulate these interactions in cells
Objective
Understanding the fundamental mechanisms behind the functioning of cells and their interior has long been a biology-only enterprise. This view has radically changed in the last decade or so, culminating in the invention of a whole new field, named 'cell physics', which uses the tools of physics to gain a more quantitative and deeper understanding of the inner working of a cell. The aim of my research fits broadly in this new field, although the scale of the computational studies which I plan are thus far unprecedented. I will focus my programme on the spatial organisation of DNA and chromosomes, proteins, and DNA-protein networks within the intracellular environment. I will therefore aim to answer questions such as: How is DNA organised in living cells, such as bacteria and eukaryotic nuclei? What is the role of proteins in DNA and chromosome folding in vivo? How does genome organisation differ in healthy and sick nuclei? How do proteins and RNA move around and self-organise into supramolecular structures in the crowded intracellular environment? I propose to work on the simulation and theoretical side of these problems, while maintaining very close collaborations with key experimental players in these fields who will provide me with a large number of experimental data (obtained by more sophisticated version of the original well-known 'chromosome conformation capture' technique) to maximise the impact and output of the modelling work.
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
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics chromosomes
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
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.
EH8 9YL Edinburgh
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.