Objective
This proof of concept grant will revolutionise how bone marrow stem cells are cryopreserved by translating ERC-grant developed technology, inspired by how organisms survive in extreme cold temperatures.
Bone marrow (haematopoietic) stem cells are used in life saving treatments, especially for blood cancers such as Leukaemia, but have potential for a wide range of diseases. The current method for storing stem cells involves addition of huge amounts of toxic organic solvents which leads to unwanted side-effects and not all the recovered cells are viable. There is also a rapidly growing market for stem-cell therapies, but with a major bottleneck being the logistics of transport: getting the cells from the (small number of) specialised production facilities to the patients, with minimum processing and within the cold chain.
We have established strong preliminary data demonstrating an entirely new concept in cryopreservation based on the use of (patent pending) synthetic polymers, which can control ice formation and growth. These are inspired by how antifreeze proteins protect organisms which live in sub-zero environments, but with the advantages of being; Highly tuneable; Low toxicity; Scalable synthesis. This is backed up by demonstration of function in immortalised cell lines, and is ready to be applied to real biomedical problems.
In this project we will obtain convincing data-sets demonstrating that our synthetic polymer can revolutionise the storage and transport of stem cells for current and emerging therapies. This will bring significant societal change through enabling new regenerative medicine therapies and bringing real commercial benefit by solving a supply chain challenge and improving on the current 50 year old method.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology leukemia
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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.
CV4 8UW COVENTRY
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.