Objective
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer related mortality and is predicted to be the second leading cause of cancer death by 2030. Widely regarded as a death sentence, the 5-year survival rate is only 3% in the UK and this figure has not changed over the past four decades due to lack of specific therapies and inability to detect it early. Several years often elapses from the beginning of the disease to the patient’s diagnosis, suggesting a window of opportunity for early detection. Recently, tiny nanometre-sized vesicles (exosomes) shed by the tumour in the bloodstream, have emerged as powerful circulating biomarkers possessing extremely high sensitivity and specificity, thus paving the way for a new era of non-invasive cancer diagnostics. However, currently the process of exosome isolation and detection is not only highly inefficient, but also technically challenging and inaccessible to hospital laboratories, clinical facilities and resource-poor settings.
To address technological constraints of exosome utilisation, we are developing a microfluidic device that leverages cutting-edge microfabrication technology to enable isolation and detection of tumour exosomes from the blood for screening and detecting early-stage pancreatic cancer with unprecedented precision. This chip will have two components, a separation module where exosomes will be isolated from all other blood particles, and a detection chamber that will incorporate technology to achieve ultralow resolution. The first stage of development will be concerned with the fabrication of all components necessary to harness the sensitivity of the exosome biomarker. Following initial testing, we plan to take steps towards commercialisation of the device.
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.
- social sciences sociology demography mortality
- natural sciences biological sciences cell biology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology pancreatic cancer
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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.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept Grant
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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) ERC-2017-PoC
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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.
SW7 2AZ London
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.