Descripción del proyecto
Nuevos biomarcadores de la enfermedad de Alzheimer
La enfermedad de Alzheimer (EA) es un trastorno neurodegenerativo progresivo sin cura ni tratamientos para modificar su evolución. La investigación y el desarrollo de nuevos tratamientos se han visto obstaculizados por la falta de herramientas de diagnóstico precisas para identificar a las personas en las primeras fases de la EA. El objetivo del proyecto BBDiag, financiado por las Acciones Marie Skłodowska-Curie, es abordar esta limitación mediante la identificación de biomarcadores de la EA y el desarrollo de métodos de detección específicos. El proyecto reúne a expertos europeos en la materia que, además, impartirán formación interdisciplinaria a jóvenes investigadores. En última instancia, el objetivo es diseñar tratamientos modificadores de la EA y mejorar la atención a las personas con EA.
Objetivo
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects more than 7 million people in Europe and this figure is expected to double every 20 years. Despite intensive efforts, no disease-modifying treatments or preventive strategies are available. The lack of specific, sensitive and minimally invasive diagnostics to identify people with early-stage AD to be included in clinical drug intervention trials is among the main reasons for many notable trial failures. The main challenges in developing the required diagnostics are identification of AD biomarkers and development of their detection techniques. The complex and interdisciplinary nature of the research underlines the need for innovative training of a new generation of researchers in the field. BBDiag responds to such a need and establishes a much-needed ETN for blood based early-AD diagnostics to address these challenges. It brings together leading academic and industrial experts from five major consortia in Europe and uses their synergies to build a triple-i research & training platform with the required multidisciplinary expertise and cutting-edge technologies. BBDiag Fellows will be trained under the Vitae Researcher Development Framework innovatively combined with the BBDiag platform for gaining interdisciplinary scientific and transferable skills as well as personal quality, creative thinking and business mind-set. The ETN has a highly innovative research programme for the discovery of AD biomarkers, development of novel biosensing techniques and point of care tools, and for technological exploitation of the diagnostics. These advances will strongly support improved care provision and development of disease-modifying treatments and preventive strategies for AD patients. More importantly, BBDiag will deliver its first generation of 13 highly-skilled, creative and entrepreneurial Fellows, setting them on a path to successful careers in academia or industry to ensure that the medical and societal challenges imposed by AD are met.
Ámbito científico
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensorsbiosensors
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicineneurologydementiaalzheimer
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materialstwo-dimensional nanostructuresgraphene
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepathology
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic healthepidemiologymodeling of diseases spread
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
MSCA-ITN - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks (ITN)Coordinador
PL4 8AA Plymouth
Reino Unido