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Smart Theranostic Agents for the Tumour Microenvironment

Objective

FLUORODRUGS is a highly interdisciplinary project encompassing the design, synthesis and biological validation of novel smart chemical agents for highly sensitive diagnosis and specific treatment of cancer. I will prepare novel drug-fluorophores conjugates by combining macrophage-specific fluorophores with cytotoxic drugs using smart cleavable linkers. The activation of these smart agents in the tumour microenvironment will allow to not only to visualise in real-time but also to selectively ablate tumour-associated macrophages, which are essential for cancer progression. Further derivatization of the agents with specific ligands (i.e. chemokine CCL2) will yield probes for specific subpopulations of macrophages (i.e. CCR2+ macrophages) that are critical in tumour metastasis. This strategy will minimise two of the major limitations of conventional cancer therapies: 1) drug resistance from cancer cells, and 2) toxic side effects derived from low cell specificity. Notably, the visualisation of immune cells in the tumour microenvironment will allow to monitor cancer progression in real-time and to run profiling studies to discover new biomarkers for cancer therapy. Initial in vitro studies to confirm the activity and selectivity of FLUORODRUGS will be performed in bone marrow-derived macrophages. Further, relevant mouse cancer models will be used to validate the theranostic agents in vivo. FLUORODRUGS will involve multidisciplinary training in biology, spectroscopy, pharmacology and imaging, and will render a unique generation of smart chemical tools to enhance diagnosis and treatment of cancer. This project will open a whole range of opportunities for my future career development in cancer biology and medicinal chemistry.

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.

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Programme(s)

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.

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.

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.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2015

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Coordinator

THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 195 454,80
Address
OLD COLLEGE, SOUTH BRIDGE
EH8 9YL Edinburgh
United Kingdom

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Region
Scotland Eastern Scotland Edinburgh
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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.

€ 195 454,80
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