Objective
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease, which affects approximately 2 per 100000 people. Currently, there is no ALS treatment. The main tool for preclinical ALS studies is the hSOD1G93A mouse. However, despite promising results in this model, all candidate drugs failed in clinical trials. These failures have been partly attributed to differences in the physiology of human and mice nerve cells, and the inability of the established drug design approach to block ALS pathology. There is urgent need for new tools that will complement this mouse model, improve understanding of ALS pathology, and suggest better leads for clinical trials.
The objective of the proposed study is to develop a tissue-on-a-chip platform for systems-level studies of ALS pathology and drug screening. The system is built around a novel thin porous scaffold, where systems of normal or ALS-type mouse and human motor neurons will be cultured inside an appropriate 3D ECM analog, and their response (intracellular signaling, cell processes, cell-cell communication) to stimuli panels in the presence of drugs will be quantified via high-throughput proteomics and fluorescent imaging. Acquired data will be interpreted by modifications of state-of-the-art system biology tools.
The outcomes of the proposed research can lead to new ALS treatments by identifying new drug targets (via mechanistic description of ALS pathology), and by developing better ways to evaluate candidate drugs before clinical trials (via comparing drug response in human and mouse cells). Results can be translated to other neurodegenerative diseases. Finally, the proposal offers an opportunity to a promising researcher to relocate from MIT to Greece, collaborate with a leading neurobiology lab in a world-class environment and a systems pharmacology SME, and translate his research via two startup companies. The host envisions the opportunity for a tenure-track faculty position for the experienced researcher.
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug discovery
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology dementia alzheimer
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pathology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
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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.1.3. - 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-EF-RI - RI – Reintegration panel
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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-2014
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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.
700 13 IRAKLEIO
Greece
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.