Objective
Blindness affects millions of people worldwide and has devastating consequences for those affected. It is often caused by a loss of photoreceptors in the retina, whose residual cellular network remains largely unaffected. Various strategies have been chosen to restore vision, such as electrical stimulation with retinal implants. More recently, natural photoreceptor proteins and stem cells have been explored. We propose a radically different ¿photopharmacological¿ approach toward vision restoration that is based on synthetic photoswitches. These are combined in various ways with natural receptor proteins to create hybrid photoreceptors, which can then sensitize neurons toward light. In a way we are ¿teaching old receptors new tricks¿ and let them carry out functions that they have not evolved for in Nature. Our hybrid photoreceptors and photochromic drugs work well in experimental animals and have already been shown to influence their visual behavior. To make these molecules work in humans, we need to improve their photophysical properties and investigate their delivery, stability and pharmacology. This requires an extensive program in synthetic chemistry, which should be accompanied by effective and immediate neurobiological evaluation. Our very general approach to optically controlling neural activity can be applied to other functions and malfunctions of the nervous system, such as pain or epilepsy, but its greatest medical potential currently lies in the restoration of vision.
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 neurology epilepsy
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine ophthalmology
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology implants
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy
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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.
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-2010-AdG_20100317
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
80539 MUNCHEN
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.