Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TALENTS (Training AlliancE for Novel Microbiome-Modulating TherapieS)
Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2024-12-31
To cope with the increasing threat of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance in particular, pharmaceutical research must take new ways by using the growing knowledge about the human microbiome as well as novel bioinformatic tools. Developing novel therapeutic modalities with the capacity to overcome the problems of existing antibiotics, such as e.g. resistance development, neglected microbial metabolism, or unintended microbiota alterations, requires close collaboration with clinical scientists. Especially the exploitation of microbiota holds untapped potential for prophylactic or therapeutic interventions against chronic inflammatory and infective diseases. To be prepared for such modern research and development of novel anti-infectives, a new generation of trained scientists with the capacity to work across established disciplines is required. Heart of the TALENTS project is a graduate school that brings together the fields of pharmaceutical research, chemistry, medicine, and bioinformatics in an interdisciplinary training network aiming to investigate and exploit human microbiota for finding new drugs to fight infectious diseases. The TALENTS Graduate School established at Saarland University creates an important bridge between the Faculty of Sciences and the Helmholtz-Institute of Pharmaceutical Research Saarland, located at the main campus Saarbrücken, with the Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Saarland located on the campus Homburg, respectively. To warrant transdisciplinary research training, indeed, each fellow is supervised by at least two PIs affiliated with complimentary faculties or institutes. The objectives were to recruit 15 international Ph.D. students for advanced research training on this topic, and thus to i) create new knowledge and tools leading up to the identification of promising new drug candidates for further pharmaceutical development and ii) excellent career opportunities for the fellows.
After the project started in January 2023, the single recruitment call was published and was open from Feb 25 to May 15, 2023. For the 15 announced positions, we received more than 900 applications. In the interest of a fair and transparent recruitment process, well-balanced committees were established for each of the 15 projects, also including external experts. The top four candidates for each project were interviewed via videoconferences, and the most promising ones were offered employment contracts. In this way, all 15 positions could be filled smoothly and on time. The excellent support of the UdS administration provided valuable assistance in relocation and employment procedures. Interdisciplinary supervising committees for each student were set in place for research and career development advice. The training concept builds on existing as well as newly established courses offered by the involved faculties, as well as courses on transferable skills, as well as a specific seminar on hot topics and career perspectives in pharmaceutical research courses. In addition, the fellows have regular meetings with their individual thesis committees, as well as joint group seminars and scientific symposia with some distinguished external experts. All research projects have started on time and meanwhile produced some first results that could be disseminated as conference presentations and research papers.
The 15 Ph.D. projects are grouped in three research areas: i) microbiome research with a focus on elucidating microbes associated with diseases and using the information to identify and develop natural products as potential drug candidates; ii) designing drug candidates that are changing the microbiota by reducing the virulence of pathogenic bacteria and iii) advancing drug delivery strategies and infection models for drug candidate testing. The first results include bioinformatics tools for the analysis of microbiota-derived data to investigate gene sequences potentially encoding for natural products and an open access database for plasmids with functional annotations. Processes of analysis of challenging microbiota samples had to be improved for such purposes. New potential natural products as well as chemically synthesized new compounds acting as pathoblockers could be identified and are now in the process of production/synthesis and activity testing. For improved delivery across biological barriers nanoparticles and extracellular vesicles are being investigated. In vivo infection models have been implemented for the functional assessment of emerging drug candidates. As from today’s perspective, the research projects in TALENTS are about to provide the intended new research tools for increasing the efficacy in drug design and development, hopefully leading to some promising new drug candidates in the further course of the project.
The TALENTS project was set up to foster scientific exchange and cross-fertilization in research and training between the involved disciplines. The interdisciplinary graduate school provides advances in i) inspiring research, ii) promoting best practices in doctoral training and supervision, and iii) widening the choice of training. The mix of promoting existing courses by communication and acceptance across disciplines and offering new special thematic courses encourages tailored training fitting the individual researchers' needs and career plans. Expected outcomes are increased employability for the Ph.D. students, both in academia and in industry, and a strengthened visibility of Pharmaceutical Research as a scientifically strong and promising economic pillar for Saarland University and the Saarland.
The TALENTS project was set up to foster scientific exchange and cross-fertilization in research and training between the involved disciplines. The interdisciplinary graduate school provides advances in i) inspiring research, ii) promoting best practices in doctoral training and supervision, and iii) widening the choice of training. The mix of promoting existing courses by communication and acceptance across disciplines and offering new special thematic courses encourages tailored training fitting the individual researchers' needs and career plans. Expected outcomes are increased employability for the Ph.D. students, both in academia and in industry, and a strengthened visibility of Pharmaceutical Research as a scientifically strong and promising economic pillar for Saarland University and the Saarland.