Project description
A new diagnostic tool for Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterised by the misfolding and aggregation of α-synuclein into Lewy bodies. Understanding how the oligomers formed from this process cause cellular toxicity and disease is paramount to determining the molecular origins of PD. To address this issue, the EU-funded SUPD project will combine spectroscopy and fluorescent technologies to study α-synuclein oligomers in the cerebrospinal fluid of PD patients and healthy individuals. The generated method of measuring α-synuclein oligomer size and structural properties can serve as an early diagnostic tool for PD and may generate opportunities for therapeutic intervention.
Objective
Parkinson’s disease is the most common movement disorder caused by neurodegeneration, for which there is no cure, no way of modifying the disease and no clinically accepted diagnostic tool. In the brain, the intrinsically disordered monomeric protein α-synuclein misfolds, aggregates and accumulates to form proteinaceous inclusions termed Lewy bodies. This process forms ‘oligomers’, intermediates in the aggregation pathway that are strongly implicated in the cellular toxicity that causes the disease. Oligomers are exceedingly challenging to study with traditional biophysical techniques because of their low abundance and variability in size, structure and stability. My research proposal aims to develop a new method capable of measuring the size and structural properties of single oligomers in human cerebral spinal fluid. By employing technologies in the field of cavity-enhanced spectroscopy and combining these with existing tools in single-molecule fluorescence I will investigate how the properties of oligomers in cerebral spinal fluid differ between healthy and Parkinson’s disease patients. In order to determine the molecular origins of Parkinson’s disease we need a comprehensive understanding of these pathogenic species. Achieving this goal will enable us to develop an early diagnostic tool which in turn will generate opportunities for therapeutic intervention.
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 neurobiology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology neurodegenerative diseases parkinson
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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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-2019
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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.
CB2 1TN CAMBRIDGE
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.