Phd — Deciphering PI3K biology in health and disease

Results in brief

Deciphering PI3K biology in health and disease

Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) are intracellular signal transducers that regulate many biological functions like metabolism, protein synthesis, cell growth, survival, and migration. This directly involves deregulation of PI3K signalling pathway in a number of different diseases, ranging from inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases, to diabetes or cancer. The discovery of mutations in genes encoding PI3K pathway members in 80% of human cancers and in many inflammatory diseases has promoted major efforts to target this signalling pathway in the treatment of cancer and immunity. The Phd Project sought to dissect the functions of different PI3K isoforms and translate this knowledge into new treatment modalities with PI3K inhibitors and to identify new uses for existing PI3K inhibitors. This Innovative Training Network (ITN) gathered the best European PI3K signalling research laboratories, universities, and a private company, with the objective to provide a multidisciplinary Training Programme to develop the next generation of PI3K experts and prepare talented early stage researchers (ESRs) for leading roles in research and drug discovery in European industry and academia. The objective of this ITN programme was to provide ESRs with scientific, technical and complementary skills and to establish international and interdisciplinary research cooperation between participants with the final aim of moulding doctoral candidates to experienced researchers in the PI3K field. During the project, ESRs have developed a range of skills that have maximized their employability, they have acquired competences on the state-of-the-art technology and knowledge to decipher PI3Ks function, learnt basic technical skills that will help them during their future research career, and they have also been provided with transferable skills that have open them to greater future employment options. Moreover, during this 4 years Phd participants have strengthen or established links and research collaborations that will last beyond the Phd.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

The Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway is at the core of multiple fundamental biological processes controlling metabolism, protein synthesis, cell growth, survival, and migration. This inevitably leads to the involvement of the PI3K signalling pathway in a number of different diseases, ranging from inflammation and diabetes to cancer, with PI3K pathway alterations present in almost 80% of human cancers. Therefore, PI3Ks have emerged as important targets for drug discovery and, during 2014, the first PI3K inhibitor was approved by FDA in the US for the treatment of a lymphocytic leukaemia. Nonetheless, our understanding of PI3K-mediated signalling is still poor and only a fraction of the potential therapeutic applications have been addressed so far, leaving a large amount of translational work unexplored. Europe features a set of top quality research institutions and pharmaceutical companies focused on PI3K studies but their activities have been so far scattered. This proposal fills this gap by providing a multidisciplinary network (biochemistry, mouse studies, disease models, drug development, software development) and an unprecedented training opportunity from the bench to the bedside (from pre-clinical discoveries to clinical trials), through cutting edge molecular biology, drug discovery and clinical trial organization. The proposal is aimed at training young investigators in deep understanding of the different PI3K isoforms in distinct tissues and to translate this knowledge into a new generation of PI3K inhibitors, treatment modalities and into identify new uses for existing PI3K inhibitors.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

FUNDACIO INSTITUT D'INVESTIGACIO BIOMEDICA DE BELLVITGE · L'Hospitalet De LlobregatCoordinatorSpain
ARIVIS AG · UNTERSCHLEISSHEIMGermany
CENTRE EUROPEEN DE RECHERCHE EN BIOLOGIE ET MEDECINE · Illkirch GraffenstadenFrance
FORSCHUNGSVERBUND BERLIN EV · BerlinGermany
FUNDACIO PRIVADA INSTITUT D'INVESTIGACIO ONCOLOGICA DE VALL-HEBRON (VHIO) · BarcelonaSpain
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA SANTE ET DE LA RECHERCHE MEDICALE · ParisFrance
Institut Clinique de la Souris · Illkirch-GraffenstadenFrance
THE BABRAHAM INSTITUTE · CambridgeUnited Kingdom
THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE · CAMBRIDGEUnited Kingdom
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI TORINO · TorinoItaly
UNIVERSITAT BASEL · BaselSwitzerland
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON · LondonUnited Kingdom
UbiK media S.L. · BarcelonaSpain

Phd · Deciphering PI3K biology in health and disease

Results in brief

Deciphering PI3K biology in health and disease

Project objective

Participants

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