Project description
Better screening for vitamin D deficiency
Vitamin D deficiency is widespread, growing globally at an alarming rate. In addition to well-known effects on bone, vitamin D also appears to play a role in insulin production, immune function, chronic disease prevention, and cancer. Despite its clear importance to health, vitamin D screening currently looks at only one molecule in the complex metabolic pathway associated with its availability and use. OPTIMAL-D is developing new analytical methods to better investigate a variety of metabolites associated with vitamin D processing. Looking at both classical and alternative metabolic pathways, OPTIMAL-D hopes to find new vitamin D biomarkers for better prevention and treatment.
Objective
Vitamin D has well-recognised actions on the skeleton, but also exerts potent effects on extra-skeletal tissues. Current approaches to measure vitamin D almost exclusively rely on measuring a single, inactive vitamin D metabolite – 25-hydroxyvitamin D. However, vitamin D undergoes complex metabolism that may strongly influence the physiological impact of vitamin D. This is particularly important for extra-skeletal responses to vitamin D, where tissue-specific metabolites appear to be a crucial component of vitamin D activity. Hence, to better understand the broader role of vitamin D in human health there is an urgent need for new analytical methods that more accurately define optimal levels of vitamin D. The current project will develop state-of-the-art mass spectrometry methods for more comprehensive measurement of vitamin D metabolism in blood and solid tissues. Studies during the outgoing phase of the project will establish more comprehensive LC-MS/MS methods for analysis of classical vitamin D metabolism pathways, as well as alternative metabolic pathways. LC-MS/MS methods will also be developed to measure polymorphic variants of the serum vitamin D binding protein, and thereby enable clearer definition of the bioavailability of vitamin D metabolites. These new methods will initially be validated using a large human cohort at the outgoing phase. Finally, novel MALDI mass spectrometry imaging methods will be developed to visualise vitamin D metabolites in solid tissues. Translational application of each new analytical method will be tested on the return phase of the project through studies of large patient cohorts with both serum and tissue samples (placenta and skin tissues). Further enhancement of analytical methods will be achieved through an industrial secondment that will provide access to cutting-edge equipment. The project will establish an entirely new philosophy and methodology for the measurement of vitamin D biomarkers in health and disease.
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
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine obstetrics
- natural sciences chemical sciences analytical chemistry mass spectrometry
- humanities philosophy, ethics and religion philosophy
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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-2018
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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.
B15 2TT Birmingham
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.