IFP TRANSCURE

TransCure - International Fellowship Program on Translational Research

 Partecipanti

Mappa

 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The herein proposed International Fellowship Program will be integrated into the recently funded Swiss translational research program, the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) TransCure, a joint research effort of 28 academic research groups located in major Swiss universities. The aim of the NCCR TransCure is to improve prevention and treatment of chronic diseases such as cancer, osteoporosis, neurodegenerative diseases, heart diseases, etc. Recent progresses in biomedical research have revealed that the dysfunction of specific membrane proteins contributes to the pathogenesis of these diseases. NCCR TransCure aims at studying the function of implicated membrane proteins and developing innovative drugs that control them in the diseased state. Membrane transport proteins and ion channels are particularly important pharmaceutical targets as they are the gatekeepers of the membranes of cells and cell organelles. In particular, they control the uptake and efflux of vital substances such as sugars, vitamins, trace elements, signal molecules and drugs. Targeting these proteins has been rather neglected yet by the pharmaceutical industry due to their structural complexity and hydrophobic nature. Thus, these proteins represent a large and unexplored pharmaceutical wealth. The TransCure premise is that integration of medicine, structural biology and chemistry will be tremendously beneficial in accelerating the translational avenue from 'gene to drug'. The future success of translational research in Europe depends on well-trained and multidisciplinary-oriented young researchers. The Swiss interdisciplinary TransCure research network represents the ideal platform for the training of such researchers from Europe and all over the world. Therefore, an integration of this COFUND IFP into TransCure will provide Europe with the long-sought 'next generation biomedical scientists', necessary for the development of the 'next generation therapeutic drugs' in the future.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Dysfunctional membrane proteins can cause chronic conditions such as cancer, osteoporosis, neurodegeneration and heart disease. EU researchers are working on preventing or treating such conditions via a strong translational research platform.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Twenty academic research groups from Swiss universities teamed up under the International Fellowship Program (IFP) that was integrated into TransCure, which is part of the National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCRs) programme. Through funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation and the EU, the 'TransCure - International Fellowship Program on Translational Research' (http://www.nccr-transcure.ch/index.php?id=78 (IFP TRANSCURE)) project aims to facilitate the formation of an effective multidisciplinary research platform.

Since its inception in May 2012, IFP TRANSCURE laid the foundation for continuing translational research with a skilled interdisciplinary research network in biology, structural biology and chemistry. Already, 14 postdoctoral fellows have been recruited for a 3-year period through 2 calls.

Considerable inroads were made in elucidating the function of therapeutically important membrane transporters and channels. For instance, the fellows successfully determined the 3D structure of a transporter protein and identified promising compounds targeting different proteins.

Research outcomes are expected to open up novel treatment options for chronic human conditions through the development of next-generation drugs. Such a translational research platform will enhance the skills and competitiveness of participating researchers in Europe, thus boosting their careers. This should also ensure that the EU competes with or surpasses the United States when it comes to pharmaceutical innovations at the academic level.