Objective
Pulmonary fibrosis is a multifaceted and fatal disease that includes damaged alveolar epithelial cells and disorganization of multiple stromal cells. Dysregulation of multicellular crosstalk between epithelial and stromal cells is likely to contribute to fibrosis. However, the precise way this tissue damage occurs is unknown. I hypothesize that impaired function of lung epithelial stem cell lead to alveolar epithelial damage in pulmonary fibrosis, and which may be caused by altered stromal/niche cells. Epithelial injury repair and regeneration in the adult lung is carried out by numerous epithelial stem/progenitor cells. Recently, I identified a crucial interaction between lung endothelial cells and lung stem cells during alveolar injury response, and demonstrated a new regulatory signalling pathway that operates in endothelial cells to support alveolar injury repair by driving alveolar lineage specification of stem cells. Importantly, introduction of endothelial-derived factors into the lung after fibrotic damage enhances alveolar regeneration and reduces pulmonary fibrosis.
Given these results and unique my background knowledge, I will bring a new concept of stem cell-niche interactions in alveolar injury repair and pulmonary fibrosis. Using both in vivo murine and organoid culture, as well as human lung organoid culture systems, I will define 1) whether and how the fibrotic response affects lung stem cells and 2) how lung stem cells are regulated by endothelial cells that may comprise their respective niches during injury repair. 3) The mechanisms involved in the normal and pathological regulation of lung stem cells will be elucidated by determining secreted factors and regulatory signals endothelial cells confer through paracrine and direct physical interaction with stem cells. Insights gained from these studies will accelerate the development of novel and selective therapeutic approaches that directly target stem cells or their niches in pulmonary fibrosis.
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 medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pathology
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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)
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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-2015-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.
CB2 1TN Cambridge
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.