Objective
Gene therapy using adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors has shown early promise in clinical trials. The therapeutic transgene cassette can be packaged in different AAV capsid pseudotypes, each having a unique transduction profile. At present, AAV capsid serotype selection for a specific clinical trial is based on effectiveness in small animal models. We (and others) have shown substantial progress in improving gene therapy for eye diseases in rodents. However, small animal studies are not often predictive of human outcome when it comes to the efficacy of viral delivery. Moreover, non-human primates used as pre-clinical animal models do not display any pathology making them unsuitable for testing efficacy. Here, I propose to overcome these bottlenecks in translational gene therapy by generating non-human primate models of retinal degeneration where effects of therapies and prosthesis on sight restoration can be tested. Generating transgenic primates using germline transgenesis would be very costly and ethically problematic. I thus propose to induce retinal disease locally, following delivery of pathogenic genes within specific subsets of cells in the non-human primate retina (Aim A). In Aim B, I propose to develop novel AAVs for use in human gene therapy using directed evolution. This bioengineering approach has yielded AAVs with enhanced delivery properties in the murine retina and applying it to post-mortem human retinas will generate AAVs responding to a clinical need in gene therapy. All together, the creation of models of disease in primates combined with novel AAVs tested in human post-mortem retinas will enable us to validate therapies aiming at vision restoration and neuroprotection in retinas with a macula and high central visual acuity, removing a major roadblock in the development of ocular therapeutics for humans.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology mammalogy primatology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology dementia alzheimer
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology genetic engineering gene therapy
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine ophthalmology
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies
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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-STG - Starting 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-STG
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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.
75006 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.