Project description
Understanding nature's decision making when it comes to energy efficiency
Cells and biological systems are in a continuous state of disequilibrium, breaking down molecules and building up 'products' to facilitate their many and varied functions. Cellular metabolism generates heat that is dissipated to the environment and can be measured via calorimetry to calculate the energetic costs of cellular processes. The EU-funded EnBioSys project will exploit this technique to investigate how energy trade-offs affect cellular processes. The focus will be on the trade-off between energy dissipation and the accuracy of biochemical signalling paths and between power and productivity when it comes to embryonic development and cell growth. Efficient energy management is as critical to living organisms as it is to our planet, and EnBioSys could show us how nature makes cost-benefit decisions.
Objective
All living systems function out of thermodynamic equilibrium and require a continuous supply of energy. To understand how cells and organisms function, we need to determine how metabolic energy is partitioned among the complex array of cellular processes that are necessary for life at any scale, from isolated biochemical networks to quiescent and highly proliferative cells to organismal growth and development. To investigate the energetics of living systems, I established calorimetry to measure the energy exchanged in the form of heat between biological systems and their environment. By combining these measurements with specific perturbations, I have shown that the energetic costs associated with a given biological process can be calculated, and thus, provides a means towards understanding the energetics of biological systems. This proposal aims to understand the energetic costs of accurate cell signaling, and of homeostasis, proliferation, and growth of cells and organisms. It will further investigate how these biological systems are governed by energetic trade-offs. First, the trade-off between energy dissipation and accuracy of biochemical signaling pathways. Second, the trade-off between power and yield during cell growth and organismal development. Specifically, I will:
1) Develop approaches to quantify the overall energetics of biological systems
2) Elucidate the role of energy dissipation on the accuracy and reproducibility of cell cycle signaling
3) Determine how energetics drive embryonic development and cell growth
This work will overcome the current lack of non-invasive techniques to quantitatively measure metabolic rates, especially rates of energy conversion and dissipation in biological systems. The results will yield quantitative thermodynamic data needed to determine the energetics of biological systems and will be essential for kinetic growth studies of normal and diseased systems.
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 cell biology cell signaling
- natural sciences chemical sciences analytical chemistry calorimetry
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology homeostasis
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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.1.1. - 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-STG - Starting 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-2020-STG
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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.
80539 MUNCHEN
Germany
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.