Objective
Many aspects of the physical principles governing protein folding in vitro have been elucidated in the past decades. At the same time, a large number of cellular components involved in protein folding in vivo have been identified. But our mechanistic understanding of how these cellular components affect the energy landscape of the folding process has remained very limited, largely due to a lack of suitable methods. An opportunity to bridge this gap is single molecule fluorescence spectroscopy in combination with Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), a new technique that allows the investigation of distance distributions and dynamics of individual protein molecules even in complex and heterogeneous environments. In a multi-disciplinary project employing methods ranging from molecular biology and protein biochemistry to optics, microfluidic mixing, and development of instrumentation and software, we plan to use single molecule spectroscopy for investigating the question how proteins find their native three-dimensional structure in a cell. Our initial focus will be on molecular chaperones, which assist protein folding in vivo, but the approach is applicable to a wide range of related phenomena and will be extended to other cellular components. This project is thus expected to nucleate a comprehensive biophysical analysis of intracellular protein folding and dynamics, eventually within live cells. A detailed investigation of these processes will be crucial for understanding the fine balance between protein folding and misfolding in the cell, and the large number of diseases associated with protein misfolding and aggregation.
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 biochemistry biomolecules proteins protein folding
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology
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.
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.
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.
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.
ERC-2007-StG
See other projects for this call
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.
Host institution
8006 ZURICH
Switzerland
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.