Project description
A digital twin of the gut
The gut lining plays a key role in health and susceptibility to disease, serving as a dynamic barrier where bacteria, mucus and mechanical forces interact. Understanding these interactions requires experimental models that faithfully replicate human gut physiology and computational tools capable of predicting therapeutic outcomes. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the GUT-MicroMaP project aims to develop the first rigorously calibrated mathematical model of microbiome-epithelium interactions. This digital twin will capture microbial behaviour, mucus dynamics and metabolite gradients, serving as a predictive platform for designing microbiome-directed therapies including prebiotics, probiotics and phage treatments. The framework will account for inter-personal variation, ensuring broad relevance for personalised gut health interventions.
Objective
The gut epithelium is a dynamic interface where microbial metabolism, mucus structure, and mechanical cues jointly determine barrier function and disease susceptibility. Conventional approaches—such as fecal omics, animal models, and static Transwells—either lack human relevance or the spatiotemporal control required for predictive modeling and therapeutic design. Gut-on-chip devices have recently emerged as powerful tools to bridge this gap, reproducing key features of the human intestine, including oxygen gradients, peristaltic-like flow, mucus layers, and co-culture with anaerobic microbial consortia. These systems enable causal experiments under controlled regimes, yet their use has remained largely descriptive, and no predictive computational framework exists to generalize experimental results or guide rational intervention strategies.
GUT-MicroMaP addresses this gap by developing and validating the first rigorously calibrated, spatially explicit mathematical model of microbiome–epithelium interactions in gut-on-chip systems. The project will integrate high-resolution spatial multi-omics data from the 3D’omics consortium with hybrid PDE–ABM–CFD modeling to create a digital twin of the gut environment. This model will capture microbial motility, adhesion, and biofilm dynamics under metabolites and mucus conditions, and will be iteratively refined through Bayesian calibration and sensitivity analysis. Once validated, it will serve as an in-silico platform to design microbiome-directed therapeutic strategies—including prebiotics, probiotics, and phage therapies—optimizing barrier integrity while suppressing pathogens. Therapeutic insights will integrate sex/gender variability in gut physiology and immunity, ensuring broader relevance and equity. By merging spatial omics with advanced modeling, GUT-MicroMaP will deliver a transformative predictive framework for gut health, opening new avenues for rational therapeutic design in microbiome research.
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
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)
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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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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) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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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.
3000 Leuven
Belgium
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.