ERC FUNDED PROJECTS

Bio-medical innovation makes a substantial contribution to Western societies and economies. But leading research organisations in the West are increasingly reliant on clinical research conducted beyond the West. Such initiatives are challenged by uncertainties about research quality and therapeutic practices in Asian countries. These only partly justified uncertainties are augmented by unfamiliar conditions. This study examines how to create responsible innovation in the life sciences by looking for ways to overcome existing obstacles to safe, just and ethical international science collaborations. Building on observations of scientists, managers and patients and supported by Asian language expertise, biology background, and experience with science and technology policy-making, we examine the roles of regional differences and inequalities in the networks used for patient recruitment and international research agreements. Profit-motivated networks in the life sciences also occur underground and at an informal, unregulated level, which we call bionetworking. Bionetworking is a social entrepreneurial activity involving biomedical research, healthcare and patient networks that are maintained by taking advantage of regionally differences in levels of science and technology, healthcare, education and regulatory regimes. Using novel social-science methods, the project studies two main themes. Theme 1 examines patient recruitment networks for experimental stem cell therapies and cooperation between research and health institutions involving exchanges of patients against other resources. Theme 2 maps and analyses exchanges of biomaterials of human derivation, and forms of ‘ownership’ rights, benefits and burdens associated with their donation, possession, maintenance, and application. Integral analysis of the project nodes incorporates an analysis of public health policy and patient preference in relation to Responsible innovation, Good governance and Global assemblages.

1 497 711 €

Start date: 2012-02-01, End date: 2017-01-31

The centromere is one of the most important chromosomal elements. It is required for proper chromosome segregation in mitosis and meiosis and readily recognizable as the primary constriction of mitotic chromosomes. Proper centromere function is essential to ensure genome stability; therefore understanding centromere identity is directly relevant to cancer biology and gene therapy. How centromeres are established and maintained is however still an open question in the field. In most organisms this appears to be regulated by an epigenetic mechanism. The key candidate for such an epigenetic mark is CENH3 (CENP-A in mammals, CID in Drosophila), a centromere-specific histone H3 variant that is essential for centromere function and exclusively found in the nucleosomes of centromeric chromatin. Using a biosynthetic approach of force-targeting CENH3 in Drosophila to non-centromeric DNA, we were able to induce centromere function and demonstrate that CENH3 is sufficient to determine centromere identity. Here we propose to move this experimental setup across evolutionary boundaries into human cells to develop improved human artificial chromosomes (HACs). We will make further use of this unique setup to dissect the function of targeted CENH3 both in Drosophila and human cells. Contributing centromeric components and histone modifications of centromeric chromatin will be characterized in detail by mass spectroscopy in Drosophila. Finally we are proposing to develop a technique that allows high-resolution mapping of proteins on repetitive DNA to help further characterizing known and novel centromere components. This will be achieved by combining two independently established techniques: DNA methylation and DNA fiber combing. This ambitious proposal will significantly advance our understanding of how centromeres are determined and help the development of improved HACs for therapeutic applications in the future.

1 755 960 €

Start date: 2013-02-01, End date: 2019-01-31

Iridescence is a form of structural colour which changes hue according to the angle from which it is viewed. Blue iridescence caused by multilayers has been described on the leaves of taxonomically diverse species such as the lycophyte Selaginella uncinata and the angiosperm Begonia pavonina. While much is known about the role of leaf pigment colour, the adaptive role of leaf iridescence is unknown. Hypotheses have been put forward including 1) iridescence acts as disruptive camouflage against herbivores 2) it enhances light sensing and capture in low light conditions 3) it is a photoprotective mechanism to protect shade-adapted plants against high light levels. These hypotheses are not mutually exclusive: each function may be of varying importance in different environments. To understand any one function, we need a interdisciplinary approach considering all three potential functions and their interactions. The objective of my research would be to test these hypotheses, using animal behavioural and plant physiological methods, to determine the functions of leaf iridescence and how the plant has adapted to the reflection of developmentally vital wavelengths. Use of molecular and bioinformatics methods will elucidate the genes that control the production of this potentially multifunctional optical phenomenon. This research will provide a pioneering study into the generation, developmental impact and adaptive significance of iridescence in leaves. It would also answer questions at the frontiers of several fields including those of plant evolution, insect vision, methods of camouflage, the generation and role of animal iridescence, and could also potentially inspire synthetic biomimetic applications.

1 118 378 €

Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2016-07-31

"The body is ubiquitous in perceptual experience and is central to our sense of self and personal identity. Disordered body representations are central to several serious psychiatric and neurological disorders. Thus, identifying factors which contribute to the formation and maintenance of body representations is crucial for understanding how body representation goes awry in disease, and how it might be corrected by potential novel therapeutic interventions. Several types of sensory signals provide information about the body, making the body the multisensory object, par excellence. Little is known, however, about how information from somatosensation and from vision is integrated to construct the rich body representations we all experience. This project fills this gap in current understanding by determining how the brain builds body representations (BODYBUILDING). A hierarchical model of body representation is proposed, providing a novel theoretical framework for understanding the diversity of body representations and how they interact. The key motivating hypothesis is that body representation is determined by the dialectic between two major cognitive processes. First, from the bottom-up, somatosensation represents the body surface as a mosaic of discrete receptive fields, which become progressively agglomerated into larger and larger units of organisation, a process I call fusion. Second, from the top-down, vision starts out depicting the body as an undifferentiated whole, which is progressively broken into smaller parts, a process I call segmentation. Thus, body representation operates from the bottom-up as a process of fusion of primitive elements into larger complexes, as well as from the top-down as a process of segmentation of an initially undifferentiated whole into more basic parts. This project uses a combination of psychophysical, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging methods to provide fundamental insight into how we come to represent our body."

1 497 715 €

Start date: 2014-02-01, End date: 2019-01-31