Objective
An estimated ~400 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection worldwide, resulting in an estimated $658 million in medical costs and lost wages annually. Although HBV disease can be prevented by vaccination, many people still become infected. Potent and safe drugs are available to eradicate HBV viral particles and clinically ‘cure’ HBV infection. However, during replication HBV delivers a very stable form of viral DNA (covalently closed circular DNA, cccDNA) in the nucleus of the hepatocyte, causing life-long risk of reactivation of HBV infection in case of suppression of the immune system (e.g. chemotherapy). Therefore the pharmaceutical industry is now aiming to develop strategies to eradicate the virus from the infected liver completely. Such studies are hampered by the lack of appropriate in vitro or animal models due to the narrow tropism of HBV for human hepatocytes. The hypothesis of the project is that creation of 3D culture systems encompassing hepatocytes, hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) derived from an inexhaustible source of cells (human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs)) in a matrix that mimics the biophysical and biochemical features of the liver, will be a superior model for the study of HBV infection and evaluation of the efficacy of antiviral drugs. We also hypothesize that such 3D organoids will improve maturation and function of hepatocytes, HSCs and LSECs.
The proposed studies are highly interdisciplinary, merging expertise from biology, to biophysics and engineering, with inter-sector mobility, networking, collaboration and knowledge transfer between academia and industries. The knowledge developed will be disseminated by presentations at consortium meetings, international conferences and in peer publications. All these aspects will train the researcher as independent thinker, more knowledgeable in scientific research which will provide an enormous boost to his carrier.
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 clinical medicine oncology liver cancer
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases DNA viruses hepatitis B
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antivirals
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF
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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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2014
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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.
3000 LEUVEN
Belgium
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.