Project acronym COSTPOST
Project Costs and Gains to Postponement: How Changes in the Age of Parenthood Influence the Health and Well-being of Children, the Parents, and Populations
Researcher (PI) Mikko Myrskyla
Host Institution (HI) LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH3, ERC-2013-StG
Summary Advanced maternal and paternal ages are associated with a range of negative offspring outcomes, and have been estimated to have population-level health effects comparable to those of obesity. This project analyses the health and well-being consequences of fertility postponement, focusing on three previously unanswered questions. Project A assesses the causality of the advanced parental age-offspring outcomes association. The existing literature is largely associational. Using innovative methods that allow me to control for previously unanalysed factors, I test the causality of this association and produce new estimates for the population level health impact of advanced parental age. Project B focuses on the role of the environment. Since health improves over cohorts, can postponement of parenthood – which means that the child is born to a later cohort – improve offspring outcomes? Moreover, does the environment influence the young parental age effect on the offspring? Project C analyses the implications of postponed parenthood on parental subjective well-being, which is critical for both child and parental health, but has not been analysed before.
Each of the three sub-projects has the potential for producing ground-breaking results with important policy implications and large impact on both demography and on other disciplines. Project A either confirms that the social process of fertility postponement is an important public health threat, or shows that the health effects of postponement have been grossly overestimated. Project B may revolutionise the way postponement is seen: if the cohort trend hypothesis is found to be true, the assumption that postponement has a positive effect on offspring outcomes at the individual level will be confirmed. Project C provides an innovative analysis of a neglected outcome that is critically related to child health and will advance our knowledge of the motivation for fertility postponement.
Summary
Advanced maternal and paternal ages are associated with a range of negative offspring outcomes, and have been estimated to have population-level health effects comparable to those of obesity. This project analyses the health and well-being consequences of fertility postponement, focusing on three previously unanswered questions. Project A assesses the causality of the advanced parental age-offspring outcomes association. The existing literature is largely associational. Using innovative methods that allow me to control for previously unanalysed factors, I test the causality of this association and produce new estimates for the population level health impact of advanced parental age. Project B focuses on the role of the environment. Since health improves over cohorts, can postponement of parenthood – which means that the child is born to a later cohort – improve offspring outcomes? Moreover, does the environment influence the young parental age effect on the offspring? Project C analyses the implications of postponed parenthood on parental subjective well-being, which is critical for both child and parental health, but has not been analysed before.
Each of the three sub-projects has the potential for producing ground-breaking results with important policy implications and large impact on both demography and on other disciplines. Project A either confirms that the social process of fertility postponement is an important public health threat, or shows that the health effects of postponement have been grossly overestimated. Project B may revolutionise the way postponement is seen: if the cohort trend hypothesis is found to be true, the assumption that postponement has a positive effect on offspring outcomes at the individual level will be confirmed. Project C provides an innovative analysis of a neglected outcome that is critically related to child health and will advance our knowledge of the motivation for fertility postponement.
Max ERC Funding
1 305 600 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-02-01, End date: 2019-01-31
Project acronym GASPARCON
Project Molecular steps of gas-to-particle conversion: From oxidation to precursors, clusters and secondary aerosol particles.
Researcher (PI) Mikko SIPILÄ
Host Institution (HI) HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE10, ERC-2016-STG
Summary Atmospheric aerosol particles impact Earth’s climate, by directly scattering sunlight and indirectly by affecting cloud properties. The largest uncertainties in climate change projections are associated with the atmospheric aerosol system that has been altered by anthropogenic activities. A major source of that uncertainty involves the formation of secondary particles and cloud condensation nuclei from natural and anthropogenic emissions of volatile compounds. This research challenge persists despite significant efforts within recent decades.
I will build a research group that aims to resolve the atmospheric oxidation processes that convert volatile trace gases to particle precursor vapours, clusters and new aerosol particles. We will create novel measurement techniques and utilize the tremendous potential of mass spectrometry for detection of i) particle precursor vapours ii) oxidants, both conventional but also recently discovered stabilized Criegee intermediates, and, most importantly, iii) newly formed clusters. These methods and instrumentation will be applied for resolving the initial steps of new particle formation on molecular level from oxidation to clusters and stable aerosol particles. To reach these goals, targeted laboratory and field experiments together with long term field measurements will be performed employing the state-of-the-art instrumentation developed.
Principal outcomes of this project include i) new experimental methods and techniques vital for atmospheric research and a deep understanding of ii) oxidation pathways producing aerosol particle precursors, iii) the initial molecular steps of new particle formation and iv) mechanisms of growth of freshly formed clusters toward larger sizes, particularly in the crucial size range of a few nanometers. The conceptual understanding obtained during this project will open multiple new research horizons from oxidation chemistry to Earth system modeling.
Summary
Atmospheric aerosol particles impact Earth’s climate, by directly scattering sunlight and indirectly by affecting cloud properties. The largest uncertainties in climate change projections are associated with the atmospheric aerosol system that has been altered by anthropogenic activities. A major source of that uncertainty involves the formation of secondary particles and cloud condensation nuclei from natural and anthropogenic emissions of volatile compounds. This research challenge persists despite significant efforts within recent decades.
I will build a research group that aims to resolve the atmospheric oxidation processes that convert volatile trace gases to particle precursor vapours, clusters and new aerosol particles. We will create novel measurement techniques and utilize the tremendous potential of mass spectrometry for detection of i) particle precursor vapours ii) oxidants, both conventional but also recently discovered stabilized Criegee intermediates, and, most importantly, iii) newly formed clusters. These methods and instrumentation will be applied for resolving the initial steps of new particle formation on molecular level from oxidation to clusters and stable aerosol particles. To reach these goals, targeted laboratory and field experiments together with long term field measurements will be performed employing the state-of-the-art instrumentation developed.
Principal outcomes of this project include i) new experimental methods and techniques vital for atmospheric research and a deep understanding of ii) oxidation pathways producing aerosol particle precursors, iii) the initial molecular steps of new particle formation and iv) mechanisms of growth of freshly formed clusters toward larger sizes, particularly in the crucial size range of a few nanometers. The conceptual understanding obtained during this project will open multiple new research horizons from oxidation chemistry to Earth system modeling.
Max ERC Funding
1 953 790 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-02-01, End date: 2022-01-31
Project acronym IndiviStat
Project Individualizing statin therapy by using a systems pharmacology decision support algorithm
Researcher (PI) Mikko Olavi NIEMI
Host Institution (HI) HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS7, ERC-2016-COG
Summary Background: Statins are essential drugs in the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia and are among the most prescribed drugs worldwide. The response to statin therapy varies widely between individuals. While most patients show good efficacy, a significant proportion of individuals show poor or even a lack of cholesterol-lowering efficacy. Moreover, a number of patients experience adverse drug reactions. These together with the lack of immediate effect on well-being likely explain the relatively poor adherence to statin therapy. Poor adherence to statins in turn increases the incidence of cardiovascular events and mortality.
Aims: The objectives of this project are 1) to develop a systems pharmacology model for predicting statin efficacy and tolerability at the level of an individual patient and 2) to investigate whether selecting the statin based on the model improves treatment adherence.
Methods: A systems pharmacology approach will be used to integrate data from in vitro and clinical studies. Semi-physiological pharmacokinetic-dynamic-toxicologic models will be built for each statin allowing the prediction of the pharmacokinetic and clinical outcomes for patients with different characteristics, genotypes, and concomitant medications. The ability of the systems pharmacology algorithm to enhance adherence will be investigated in a randomized clinical trial.
Significance: Systems pharmacology models have been increasingly applied in drug development, for example to predict the effect of organ dysfunction on pharmacokinetics. The proposed project is the first to use systems pharmacology predictions to guide clinical drug therapy, thus going beyond the state of the art. If successful, the project will not only improve the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, but it will open new horizons to individualizing drug therapies.
Summary
Background: Statins are essential drugs in the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia and are among the most prescribed drugs worldwide. The response to statin therapy varies widely between individuals. While most patients show good efficacy, a significant proportion of individuals show poor or even a lack of cholesterol-lowering efficacy. Moreover, a number of patients experience adverse drug reactions. These together with the lack of immediate effect on well-being likely explain the relatively poor adherence to statin therapy. Poor adherence to statins in turn increases the incidence of cardiovascular events and mortality.
Aims: The objectives of this project are 1) to develop a systems pharmacology model for predicting statin efficacy and tolerability at the level of an individual patient and 2) to investigate whether selecting the statin based on the model improves treatment adherence.
Methods: A systems pharmacology approach will be used to integrate data from in vitro and clinical studies. Semi-physiological pharmacokinetic-dynamic-toxicologic models will be built for each statin allowing the prediction of the pharmacokinetic and clinical outcomes for patients with different characteristics, genotypes, and concomitant medications. The ability of the systems pharmacology algorithm to enhance adherence will be investigated in a randomized clinical trial.
Significance: Systems pharmacology models have been increasingly applied in drug development, for example to predict the effect of organ dysfunction on pharmacokinetics. The proposed project is the first to use systems pharmacology predictions to guide clinical drug therapy, thus going beyond the state of the art. If successful, the project will not only improve the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, but it will open new horizons to individualizing drug therapies.
Max ERC Funding
2 211 565 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-08-01, End date: 2022-07-31
Project acronym InvProbGeomPDE
Project Inverse Problems in Partial Differential Equations and Geometry
Researcher (PI) Mikko Salo
Host Institution (HI) JYVASKYLAN YLIOPISTO
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE1, ERC-2012-StG_20111012
Summary Inverse problems research concentrates on the mathematical theory and practical interpretation of indirect measurements. Applications are found in virtually every research field involving scientific, medical, or industrial imaging and mathematical modelling. Familiar examples include X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Inverse problems methods make it possible to employ important advances in modern mathematics in a vast number of application areas. Also, applications inspire new questions that are both mathematically deep and have a close connection to other sciences. This has made inverse problems research one of the most important and topical fields of modern applied mathematics.
The research team proposes to study fundamental mathematical questions in the theory of inverse problems. Particular emphasis will be placed on questions involving the interplay of mathematical analysis, partial differential equations, and Riemannian geometry. A major topic in the research programme is the famous inverse conductivity problem due to Calderón forming the basis of Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT), an imaging modality proposed for early breast cancer detection and nondestructive testing of industrial parts. The geometric version of the Calderón problem is among the outstanding unsolved questions in the field. The research team will attack this and other aspects of the problem field, partly based on substantial recent progress due to the PI and collaborators. The team will also work on integral geometry questions arising in Travel Time Tomography in seismic imaging and in differential geometry, building on the solution of the tensor tomography conjecture in two dimensions obtained by the PI and collaborators in 2011. The research will focus on fundamental theoretical issues, but the motivation comes from practical applications and thus there is potential for breakthroughs that may lead to important advances in medical and seismic imaging.
Summary
Inverse problems research concentrates on the mathematical theory and practical interpretation of indirect measurements. Applications are found in virtually every research field involving scientific, medical, or industrial imaging and mathematical modelling. Familiar examples include X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Inverse problems methods make it possible to employ important advances in modern mathematics in a vast number of application areas. Also, applications inspire new questions that are both mathematically deep and have a close connection to other sciences. This has made inverse problems research one of the most important and topical fields of modern applied mathematics.
The research team proposes to study fundamental mathematical questions in the theory of inverse problems. Particular emphasis will be placed on questions involving the interplay of mathematical analysis, partial differential equations, and Riemannian geometry. A major topic in the research programme is the famous inverse conductivity problem due to Calderón forming the basis of Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT), an imaging modality proposed for early breast cancer detection and nondestructive testing of industrial parts. The geometric version of the Calderón problem is among the outstanding unsolved questions in the field. The research team will attack this and other aspects of the problem field, partly based on substantial recent progress due to the PI and collaborators. The team will also work on integral geometry questions arising in Travel Time Tomography in seismic imaging and in differential geometry, building on the solution of the tensor tomography conjecture in two dimensions obtained by the PI and collaborators in 2011. The research will focus on fundamental theoretical issues, but the motivation comes from practical applications and thus there is potential for breakthroughs that may lead to important advances in medical and seismic imaging.
Max ERC Funding
1 041 240 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-12-01, End date: 2017-11-30
Project acronym IPTheoryUnified
Project Inverse boundary problems: toward a unified theory
Researcher (PI) Mikko SALO
Host Institution (HI) JYVASKYLAN YLIOPISTO
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE1, ERC-2017-COG
Summary This proposal is concerned with the mathematical theory of inverse problems. This is a vibrant research field at the intersection of pure and applied mathematics, drawing techniques from PDE, geometry, and harmonic analysis as well as generating new research questions inspired by applications. Prominent questions include the Calderón problem related to electrical imaging, the Gel'fand problem related to seismic imaging, and geometric inverse problems such as inversion of the geodesic X-ray transform.
Recently, exciting new connections between these different topics have begun to emerge in the work of the PI and others, such as:
- The explicit appearance of the geodesic X-ray transform in the Calderón problem.
- An unexpected connection between the Calderón and Gel’fand problems involving control theory.
- Pseudo-linearization as a potential unifying principle for reducing nonlinear problems to linear ones.
- The introduction of microlocal normal forms in inverse problems for PDE.
These examples strongly suggest that there is a larger picture behind various different inverse problems, which remains to be fully revealed.
This project will explore the possibility of a unified theory for several inverse boundary problems. Particular objectives include:
1. The use of normal forms and pseudo-linearization as a unified point of view, including reductions to questions in integral geometry and control theory.
2. The solution of integral geometry problems, including the analysis of convex foliations, invertibility of ray transforms, and a systematic Carleman estimate approach to uniqueness results.
3. A theory of inverse problems for nonlocal models based on control theory arguments.
Such a unified theory could have remarkable consequences even in other fields of mathematics, including controllability methods in transport theory, a solution of the boundary rigidity problem in geometry, or a general pseudo-linearization approach for solving nonlinear operator equations.
Summary
This proposal is concerned with the mathematical theory of inverse problems. This is a vibrant research field at the intersection of pure and applied mathematics, drawing techniques from PDE, geometry, and harmonic analysis as well as generating new research questions inspired by applications. Prominent questions include the Calderón problem related to electrical imaging, the Gel'fand problem related to seismic imaging, and geometric inverse problems such as inversion of the geodesic X-ray transform.
Recently, exciting new connections between these different topics have begun to emerge in the work of the PI and others, such as:
- The explicit appearance of the geodesic X-ray transform in the Calderón problem.
- An unexpected connection between the Calderón and Gel’fand problems involving control theory.
- Pseudo-linearization as a potential unifying principle for reducing nonlinear problems to linear ones.
- The introduction of microlocal normal forms in inverse problems for PDE.
These examples strongly suggest that there is a larger picture behind various different inverse problems, which remains to be fully revealed.
This project will explore the possibility of a unified theory for several inverse boundary problems. Particular objectives include:
1. The use of normal forms and pseudo-linearization as a unified point of view, including reductions to questions in integral geometry and control theory.
2. The solution of integral geometry problems, including the analysis of convex foliations, invertibility of ray transforms, and a systematic Carleman estimate approach to uniqueness results.
3. A theory of inverse problems for nonlocal models based on control theory arguments.
Such a unified theory could have remarkable consequences even in other fields of mathematics, including controllability methods in transport theory, a solution of the boundary rigidity problem in geometry, or a general pseudo-linearization approach for solving nonlinear operator equations.
Max ERC Funding
920 880 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-05-01, End date: 2023-04-30
Project acronym QUESS
Project Quantum Environment Engineering for Steered Systems
Researcher (PI) Mikko Pentti Matias Möttönen
Host Institution (HI) AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE3, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary The superconducting quantum computer has very recently reached the theoretical thresholds for fault-tolerant universal quantum computing and a quantum annealer based on superconducting quantum bits, qubits, is already commercially available. However, several fundamental questions on the way to efficient large-scale quantum computing have to be answered: qubit initialization, extreme gate accuracy, and quantum-level power consumption.
This project, QUESS, aims for a breakthrough in the realization and control of dissipative environments for quantum devices. Based on novel concepts for normal-metal components integrated with superconducting quantum nanoelectronics, we experimentally realize in-situ-tunable low-temperature environments for superconducting qubits. These environments can be used to precisely reset qubits at will, thus providing an ideal initialization scheme for the quantum computer. The environment can also be well decoupled from the qubit to allow for coherent quantum computing. Utilizing this base technology, we find fundamental quantum-mechanical limitations to the accuracy and power consumption in quantum control, and realize optimal strategies to achieve these limits in practice. Finally, we build a concept of a universal quantum simulator for non-Markovian open quantum systems and experimentally realize its basic building blocks.
This proposal provides key missing ingredients in realizing efficient large-scale quantum computers ultimately leading to a quantum technological revolution, with envisioned practical applications in materials and drug design, energy harvesting, artificial intelligence, telecommunications, and internet of things. Furthermore, this project opens fruitful horizons for tunable environments in quantum technology beyond the superconducting quantum computer, for applications of quantum-limited control, for quantum annealing, and for simulators of non-Markovian open quantum systems.
Summary
The superconducting quantum computer has very recently reached the theoretical thresholds for fault-tolerant universal quantum computing and a quantum annealer based on superconducting quantum bits, qubits, is already commercially available. However, several fundamental questions on the way to efficient large-scale quantum computing have to be answered: qubit initialization, extreme gate accuracy, and quantum-level power consumption.
This project, QUESS, aims for a breakthrough in the realization and control of dissipative environments for quantum devices. Based on novel concepts for normal-metal components integrated with superconducting quantum nanoelectronics, we experimentally realize in-situ-tunable low-temperature environments for superconducting qubits. These environments can be used to precisely reset qubits at will, thus providing an ideal initialization scheme for the quantum computer. The environment can also be well decoupled from the qubit to allow for coherent quantum computing. Utilizing this base technology, we find fundamental quantum-mechanical limitations to the accuracy and power consumption in quantum control, and realize optimal strategies to achieve these limits in practice. Finally, we build a concept of a universal quantum simulator for non-Markovian open quantum systems and experimentally realize its basic building blocks.
This proposal provides key missing ingredients in realizing efficient large-scale quantum computers ultimately leading to a quantum technological revolution, with envisioned practical applications in materials and drug design, energy harvesting, artificial intelligence, telecommunications, and internet of things. Furthermore, this project opens fruitful horizons for tunable environments in quantum technology beyond the superconducting quantum computer, for applications of quantum-limited control, for quantum annealing, and for simulators of non-Markovian open quantum systems.
Max ERC Funding
1 949 570 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-01-01, End date: 2021-12-31
Project acronym SINGLEOUT
Project Single-Photon Microwave Devices: era of quantum optics outside cavities
Researcher (PI) Mikko Pentti Matias Möttönen
Host Institution (HI) AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE3, ERC-2011-StG_20101014
Summary The past couple of years have witnessed the rise of on-chip quantum optics. This has been enabled by the fabrication of high-finesse superconducting resonators made out of coplanar waveguides, and by the coupling of these resonators to superconducting quantum bits, qubits. This so-called circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) has proven superior compared with the standard cavity QED with photons coupled to atoms in three-dimensional space. Namely, the coupling of the cavity photons with the qubit has reached strengths completely out of reach with traditional techniques. The energy levels and their populations in the qubits can be controlled in-situ, which has also offered the possibility prepare the quantum mechanical state of the photons in the cavity to arbitrary superpositions of the low-lying photon number states.
Although great focus is put worldwide into cQED in superconducting cavities, the field of manipulation and measurement of single microwave photons outside cavities is essentially missing. This ERC starting grant project, aims to expand the power of microwave photons witnessed in cavities to free photons in waveguides. The cornerstone is the design and implementation of a single-photon click detector for microwaves. The detector will allow for the single-shot measurement of the photon state in the waveguide in a similar fashion as the photon detectors are routinely used in optical quantum computing (OQC). Thus together with the already demonstrated single-photon source, the detector will be a critical step towards quantum information processing with microwave photons. In addition to opening this novel field in physics, the detector can be utilized in the characterization of microwave components and devices at ulra-high sensitivities. In this project, we will implement a platform for such characterization and build several circuit elements to manipulate single microwave photons in the same way as beam splitters are used in OQC.
Summary
The past couple of years have witnessed the rise of on-chip quantum optics. This has been enabled by the fabrication of high-finesse superconducting resonators made out of coplanar waveguides, and by the coupling of these resonators to superconducting quantum bits, qubits. This so-called circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) has proven superior compared with the standard cavity QED with photons coupled to atoms in three-dimensional space. Namely, the coupling of the cavity photons with the qubit has reached strengths completely out of reach with traditional techniques. The energy levels and their populations in the qubits can be controlled in-situ, which has also offered the possibility prepare the quantum mechanical state of the photons in the cavity to arbitrary superpositions of the low-lying photon number states.
Although great focus is put worldwide into cQED in superconducting cavities, the field of manipulation and measurement of single microwave photons outside cavities is essentially missing. This ERC starting grant project, aims to expand the power of microwave photons witnessed in cavities to free photons in waveguides. The cornerstone is the design and implementation of a single-photon click detector for microwaves. The detector will allow for the single-shot measurement of the photon state in the waveguide in a similar fashion as the photon detectors are routinely used in optical quantum computing (OQC). Thus together with the already demonstrated single-photon source, the detector will be a critical step towards quantum information processing with microwave photons. In addition to opening this novel field in physics, the detector can be utilized in the characterization of microwave components and devices at ulra-high sensitivities. In this project, we will implement a platform for such characterization and build several circuit elements to manipulate single microwave photons in the same way as beam splitters are used in OQC.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 445 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-01-01, End date: 2016-12-31
Project acronym SNABO
Project Self-calibrating nanobolometer based on superconductor–normal-metal hybrids
Researcher (PI) Mikko Pentti Matias Möttönen
Host Institution (HI) AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR
Call Details Proof of Concept (PoC), ERC-2016-PoC, ERC-2016-PoC
Summary In this project, we develop a microwave nanobolometer invented in the ERC Starting Grant ”Single-Photon Microwave Devices: era of quantum optics outside cavities (SINGLEOUT)” into a proof of concept and carry out a market analysis and partnering with the relevant industrial players in the field.
For a successful proof of concept, a self-calibrating function will be implemented into the nanobolometer, providing us with an extremely sensitive and easy-to-use detector for microwave radiation. The new device will be designed, fabricated, and measured.
Due to the lack of spectrum analysers operating at cryogenic temperatures, our self-calibrating nanobolometer will provide a must-to-have piece of equipment for R&D facilities working on cryoelectronics and quantum technology. Thus licensing agreements with companies working on cryostats and cryosystems will be pursued.
The key performance indicators of our nanobolometer such as detection bandwidth, dynamics range, and sensitivity will be compared with the existing room-temperature technology and a potential market share for our nanobolometer will be mapped. Especially, the opportunities for commercial systems already utilizing cryogenic components such as superconducting filters at cellular phone base stations will be investigated.
During this ERC PoC project, also other business opportunities will be studied and possibilities for founding a spin-out company will be actively sought for.
Summary
In this project, we develop a microwave nanobolometer invented in the ERC Starting Grant ”Single-Photon Microwave Devices: era of quantum optics outside cavities (SINGLEOUT)” into a proof of concept and carry out a market analysis and partnering with the relevant industrial players in the field.
For a successful proof of concept, a self-calibrating function will be implemented into the nanobolometer, providing us with an extremely sensitive and easy-to-use detector for microwave radiation. The new device will be designed, fabricated, and measured.
Due to the lack of spectrum analysers operating at cryogenic temperatures, our self-calibrating nanobolometer will provide a must-to-have piece of equipment for R&D facilities working on cryoelectronics and quantum technology. Thus licensing agreements with companies working on cryostats and cryosystems will be pursued.
The key performance indicators of our nanobolometer such as detection bandwidth, dynamics range, and sensitivity will be compared with the existing room-temperature technology and a potential market share for our nanobolometer will be mapped. Especially, the opportunities for commercial systems already utilizing cryogenic components such as superconducting filters at cellular phone base stations will be investigated.
During this ERC PoC project, also other business opportunities will be studied and possibilities for founding a spin-out company will be actively sought for.
Max ERC Funding
149 838 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-12-01, End date: 2018-05-31
Project acronym TransporterPGx
Project Transporter pharmacogenomics – the contribution of transporters to variability in drug response
Researcher (PI) Mikko Olavi Niemi
Host Institution (HI) HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS7, ERC-2011-StG_20101109
Summary The response to drug therapy varies widely between individuals. Proteins involved in the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of drugs play a central role in determining the concentration of a drug at the target site, and thus drug efficacy and toxicity. Transporters are membrane proteins that mediate the translocation of chemicals into and out of cells using active and passive mechanisms. We have identified a single nucleotide variant in the SLCO1B1 gene encoding the organic anion transporting polypeptide 1B1 (OATP1B1), which severely impairs the hepatic uptake of the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin leading to an increased systemic exposure to the drug, and a markedly increased risk of simvastatin-induced muscle toxicity. The effects of this variant differ significantly between statins, forming a rational basis for individualized lipid-lowering therapy. In addition to OATP1B1, also OATP1A2, OATP1B3, and OATP2B1 are known to transport several drugs in vitro (e.g., anticancer, cardiovascular and anti-infective drugs). However, the roles of these transporters in the pharmacokinetics of drugs in vivo in humans are unknown. The aim of this project is to systematically search for genetic variants of SLCO1A2, SLCO1B3 and SLCO2B1, which have functional significance in vivo in humans. This project will enable studies to determine the roles of these transporters in the pharmacokinetics of drugs and in the disposition of endogenous compounds in vivo, with implications for drug development and drug safety. Moreover, functionally significant variants in these genes may be used to personalize drug therapies. Overall, the project can significantly facilitate the development of new drugs and can improve the safe and effective use of drugs already in clinical use, thus increasing the health and well-being of mankind and reducing the overall costs of healthcare and drug development.
Summary
The response to drug therapy varies widely between individuals. Proteins involved in the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of drugs play a central role in determining the concentration of a drug at the target site, and thus drug efficacy and toxicity. Transporters are membrane proteins that mediate the translocation of chemicals into and out of cells using active and passive mechanisms. We have identified a single nucleotide variant in the SLCO1B1 gene encoding the organic anion transporting polypeptide 1B1 (OATP1B1), which severely impairs the hepatic uptake of the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin leading to an increased systemic exposure to the drug, and a markedly increased risk of simvastatin-induced muscle toxicity. The effects of this variant differ significantly between statins, forming a rational basis for individualized lipid-lowering therapy. In addition to OATP1B1, also OATP1A2, OATP1B3, and OATP2B1 are known to transport several drugs in vitro (e.g., anticancer, cardiovascular and anti-infective drugs). However, the roles of these transporters in the pharmacokinetics of drugs in vivo in humans are unknown. The aim of this project is to systematically search for genetic variants of SLCO1A2, SLCO1B3 and SLCO2B1, which have functional significance in vivo in humans. This project will enable studies to determine the roles of these transporters in the pharmacokinetics of drugs and in the disposition of endogenous compounds in vivo, with implications for drug development and drug safety. Moreover, functionally significant variants in these genes may be used to personalize drug therapies. Overall, the project can significantly facilitate the development of new drugs and can improve the safe and effective use of drugs already in clinical use, thus increasing the health and well-being of mankind and reducing the overall costs of healthcare and drug development.
Max ERC Funding
1 882 212 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-02-01, End date: 2017-01-31