Objective
Malaria remains one of the most devastating diseases in modern times, with the heaviest mortality concentrated in young children living in resource-poor environments. Plasmodium falciparum causes the most severe form of malaria. The parasites have a complex life cycle, switching between a host and a mosquito vector. Transformation of a subset of parasites into specialized stages capable of sexual development – the gametocytes – is one of the most astonishing, yet not well understood, Plasmodium life cycle phases. As preparatory work for this proposal during my time at Harvard School of Public Health, I identified pathways specifically upregulated at the onset of sexual differentiation, an important gap in our knowledge of gametocytogenesis. Among these, four genes involved in different aspects of post-transcriptional gene regulation were highly upregulated. Studying this aspect of gametocyte biology can add to our understanding of how Plasmodium parasites orchestrate complex genetics switches and modulate the cellular response to developmental signals.
The aim of this proposal is to provide insight how these RNA-binding proteins contribute to sexual stage-specific gene expression. This project employs genetic approaches to investigate the role of these proteins during sexual development of P. falciparum. For that I will generate transgenic parasites and analyse the resulting phenotype in detail. Additionally, this study aims at characterisation the splicing activity of recombinantly produced proteins and to determine target RNAs in order to elucidate the underlying mechanism of RNA processing control.
This proposal can contribute to improved health conditions in malaria-endemic countries through a better understanding of malaria transmission and new approaches to treat the disease. Completion of the scientific project in combination with the proposed structured acquisition of professional skills will enable me to reintegrate into the European research community.
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug discovery
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases malaria
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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-2015
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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.
35390 GIESSEN
Germany
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.