Objective
Red blood cells (RBCs) mediate oxygen transport throughout the body, a function that is essential for life. RBCs are continuously produced via a process called erythropoiesis.
Anemias (insufficient numbers of functional RBCs), caused by failure of erythropoiesis, are a major cause of disease in the EC. The hereditary anemias constitute the most common human genetic disorders, with no effective cure yet. We propose an RTN Molecular Control of Erythropoiesis which will foster a multidisciplinary approach to clarify the important molecular mechanisms in normal and pathological erythropoiesis, with a view to develop novel therapies to cure the anemias. The RTN will generate a comprehensive molecular description of mechanisms governing erythropoiesis, from specification of hematopoietic stem cells in embryogenesis to terminal differentiation and post-mitotic maturation of red blood cels. For this, the RTN will use and further develop a large number of state of the art approaches in stem cell- and erythroid cell biology, including in vitro expansion, biochemistry of receptor / signal transducer complexes and transcription factors, and epigenetics. This mechanistic knowledge obtained within the RTN will be instrumental to devise intervention strategies for anemias and other erythroid disorders (e.g. dysplasias and leukemias). The RTN aims to (a) provide an international training platform for young scientists, (b) integrate European top-level genomics-oriented research in the area of hematopoietic disorders, and (c) serve as a link to industrial partners, with a view to enhance the career perspectives of young scientists in the European Research Area.
Fields of science
- medical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologycells technologiesstem cells
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinehematology
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinetransplantation
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncologyleukemia
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineembryology
Keywords
Call for proposal
FP6-2002-MOBILITY-1
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
RTN - Marie Curie actions-Research Training NetworksCoordinator
ROTTERDAM
Netherlands