Objective
Potassium channels are widely distributed and have many important biological functions in the human body. Of special interest is the Kv11.1 channel, whose main function is the repolarization of the membrane after a cardiac action potential. Unfortunately, this channel can be blocked by a variety of structurally diverse drugs causing the long QT syndrome (LQTS), a cardiac repolarization disorder that can lead to arrhythmia and sudden heart death. Due to this very severe side effect, a variety of drugs with otherwise good therapeutic profiles have been withdrawn from the market. Nowadays, cardiac Kv11.1 is an important anti-target in drug development to exclude any potential side effects that could lead to LQTS. In contrast, tumour cells require the expression of specific isoforms of Kv11.1 for survival making these channels a potential anti-cancer drug target – as long as these drugs do not bind to the heart isoform.
The major goal of this project is the elucidation of the structure of Kv11.1 via X-ray crystallography or cryo-EM. I have established large-scale protein production of a Kv11.1-chimera using the baculovirus/insect cell expression system, thus enabling biophysical and structural studies to provide structural information on a range of time- and spatial resolution scales. This will not only shed light on the structural motifs responsible for binding a variety of structurally diverse drugs but also improve the fundamental knowledge for the understanding of the special biophysical properties of this channel.
By taking these techniques together I will be able to determine how known inhibitors bind, and so identify new isoform specific binding pockets to guide isoform-specific drug design.
My career goal is to pursue fundamental and translational research in structural biology of human membrane protein, with a focus on medically important targets and further drug development. This project will bring me closer to that goal.
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 pharmacology and pharmacy drug discovery
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine cardiology cardiovascular diseases cardiac arrhythmia
- medical and health sciences basic medicine medicinal chemistry
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry alkali metals
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology structural biology
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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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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 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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-2015
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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.
LS2 9JT Leeds
United Kingdom
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.