Objective
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world. The number of people with AMD has reached 196 million, with ~1 in 10 people over 55 years already showing early signs of the condition. 70% of those who progress to late-stage disease will develop neovascular (nv)AMD due to uncontrolled growth of blood vessels behind the retina. In fact, aberrant growth of retinal or choroidal vasculature is a hallmark of diabetic retinopathy and nvAMD. Collectively, these are the most common causes of central vision loss globally. Identification of new biological processes that regulate neovascularization are urgently needed to open new therapeutic options for patients. This is a challenge; but with recent longitudinal studies showing unequivocally that current gold-standard care has a therapeutic ceiling, it presents a critical unmet clinical need. I have recently discovered that natural killer cells (NKs) are found in neovascular lesions in human AMD and our mouse model data suggests that these innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) play a role in inhibiting pathology. Using scRNAsequencing I discovered a defined subset of NKs in neovascular lesions in a model of resolving nvAMD. I now hypothesize that, in contrast to expectations, these ILCs play a critical role in remodelling neovascular lesions, limiting pathology as opposed to exacerbating it. NK cells are completely unstudied in the retina. Here, I propose that manipulating NK cells may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for the prevention and treatment of neovascular eye disease. Objectives: 1) Examine NK cell function in models of retinal neovascular disease 2) Profile NK cells in AMD pathology in a human study 3) Develop microfluidic “neovascular retina-on-a-chip” model to examine NK cell mechanism-of-action 4) Determine if NK cell therapy can ameliorate neovascular eye disease Goal: To harness the power of NK cell activity to treat neovascular eye diseases
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pathology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine ophthalmology retinopathy
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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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HORIZON.1.1 - 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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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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-2022-COG
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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.
D02 CX56 Dublin
Ireland
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.