Project description
Studying water’s role in cells
Water makes up most of our cells, but not all of it flows freely. About 70 % is known as interfacial water, which clings to proteins, membranes and internal surfaces. It behaves differently from regular water, influencing how molecules move, how proteins fold and how reactions occur. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the WATER project will train PhD students to study interfacial water in biological membranes. They will examine how confined water affects solute transport, chemical reactions and membrane fusion, using tools like electrophysiology and synthetic chemistry. The research could lead to more effective drugs, vaccines and personalised treatments.
Objective
Water is essential to life. 70% of the water in cells belongs to the hydration shells of proteins, lipid membranes or occupies protein cavities - so-called interfacial water. The difference in structure between interfacial water and bulk water gives rise to a key force in molecular biology: hydrophobic attraction. We do not fully understand how exactly this force contributes to protein folding, stability, structure, function, dynamics or membrane fusion.
WATER aims to train 16 PhD students to unravel the multiple roles of interfacial water in biological membranes. They will characterise water mobility and ordering inside membrane receptors, carrier proteins and channels, adjacent to their ligands and lipid bilayers, and in the reaction centres of membrane-bound enzymes, using a broad methodological spectrum including cryo-electron microscopy, simulations, light-spectroscopy and imaging. To assess the functional consequences of water confinement, they will analyze facilitated water and solute transport, chemical reactions inside proteins, ligand-protein interactions, the intraprotein H-bond network, and membrane fusion events, exploiting, e.g. electrophysiology and synthetic chemistry. The results will pave the way for the development of personalised, targeted therapies and more effective drugs and vaccines through improved binding and delivery. Biotechnological applications include artificial channels in biomimetic applications.
WATER will bring together world-class theoreticians, experimentalists and computational scientists to provide multidisciplinary training in biophysics, molecular biology, medicinal and organic chemistry, structural and synthetic biology, advanced microscopy and computer science. Besides scientific excellence, WATER offers a cross-sectoral approach, involving industry from start-ups to large pharmaceutical companies, and soft skills training enhancing DC’s abilities to translate scientific discoveries and improve their employability.
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 physical sciences optics microscopy
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
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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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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN - HORIZON TMA MSCA Doctoral Networks
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-DN-01
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4040 Linz
Austria
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Participants (11)
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66123 Saarbrucken
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182 00 PRAHA
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75794 Paris
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01454 RADEBERG
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1050 BRUXELLES
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55218 Ingelheim
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050663 Bucuresti
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1210 Wien
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3000 Leuven
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24118 Kiel
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52428 JULICH
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Partners (9)
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1015 Lausanne
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1004 Lausanne
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47521 Cesena
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4020 Linz
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D-12489 Berlin
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Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
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3470 Kortenaken
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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.
Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
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52062 Aachen
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116 36 Praha 1
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34199 Montpellier
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