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H2020Staff exchange2017–2022

VISGEN · Transcribing the processes of life: Visual Genetics

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2017-03-01 → 2022-02-28
EU contribution
€792,000
Participants
21
Scheme
MSCA-RISE

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners. CORDIS does not always give exact coordinates for projects before 2014. These points are placed at city or country level.

Results in brief

Transcribing the processes of life: Visual Genetics

The genetic basis of most brain diseases is still unknown. Many dozens or even hundreds of mutations may contribute to schizophrenia, depression or autism. Often we do not even know when and where these mutations act in the brain. The current ignorance in this area limits not only the diagnosis of neuro-psychiatric disorders, but also the therapeutic possibilities. It is therefore one of the dreams of neuroscience to see in real time what genetic changes are happening inside nerve cells, how genes are activated across the brain during development and behaviour and to compare the healthy to the diseased state. This is challenging as it requires two technical breakthroughs: first, labeling the building blocks of genetic material (while not hindering normal cell function) and, second, making the labeled molecules visible in the living brain. Visualisation of transcription (the first step of gene expression, in which a particular segment of DNA is copied into RNA) in living systems has never been witnessed directly. The overall objective of the VISGEN project is to develop a technology to be able to see which genes are active in a living neuron. This multidisciplinary and international project will herald a new era where this idea becomes a regular research tool and translates to a clinical and diagnostic technology in the future. The team will use a unique biotagging platform to develop the technology that is required to interrogate transcription. The effort requires the amalgamation of knowledge from neuroscientists, synthetic chemists, engineers, physicists, analytical chemists, behavioural scientists, laser technology and image processing experts. The consortium combines expertise from fourteen organisations from the academic and business sectors from six countries to build the multidisciplinary team and share the knowledge that addresses and will overcome the task of realising real-time and spatially resolved genetic studies. Real-time visual genetics will transform our understanding of the state-of-the-art and herald transformative changes in the field of neuroscience, and in general life science.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

The Visual Genetics (VISGEN) consortium brings together eight academic and five commercial scientifically leading teams to address the unique challenge of visualizing nuclear processes in intact brain in real-time. By exchanging knowledge between academic and commercial sectors in Europe, as well as undertaking training secondments at leading Universities in China the team will grow its European and global competitiveness in a world-leading forefront of neuroscience and genetic technology. Visualisation of transcription in living systems has not been witnessed directly, this multidisciplinary and international project will herald a new era where this idea becomes a regular research tool and translates to a clinical and diagnostic technology in the future. The team will use a unique biotagging platform to develop the technology that is required to interrogate transcription. The intersectoral effort requires the amalgamation of knowledge from neuroscientists, synthetic chemists, engineers, physicists, analytical chemists, nanobiologists, behavioural scientists, laser technology and image processing experts. The consortium combines expertise from thirteen organisations from seven countries to build the multidisciplinary team and share the knowledge that addresses and will overcome the task of realising real-time and spatially resolved genetic studies. Once developed, the technology can be utilized for other medical-based research and development projects aimed at early stage disease diagnosis, cancer detection, and toxicity studies. Real-time visual genetics will transform our understanding of the state-of-the-art and herald transformative changes in the field of neuroscience, and in general life science.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM · BirminghamCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
  • ACQUIFER AG · PforzheimCity levelGermany
  • ART PHOTONICS · BerlinGermany
  • ASTON MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY LTD · BirminghamUnited Kingdom
  • ASTON UNIVERSITY · BirminghamUnited Kingdom
  • CENTRE EUROPEEN DE RECHERCHE EN BIOLOGIE ET MEDECINE · Illkirch GraffenstadenFrance
  • DITABIS DIGITAL BIOMEDICAL IMAGING SYSTEMS AG · PforzheimGermany
  • EAST CHINA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY · SHANGHAIChina
  • ENVI-TECH TUDOMANYOS MUSZAKI FEJLESZTO ES KORNYEZETVEDELMI KORLATOLT FELELOSSEGU TARSASAG · BudapestHungary
  • FEMTONICS KUTATO ES FEJLESZTO KORLATOLT FELELOSSEGU TARSASAG · BUDAPESTHungary
  • FUDAN UNIVERSITY · SHANGHAIChina
  • GLUCOSET AS · OSLONorway
  • HUMELTIS BIOTECHNOLOGIAI KUTATO-FEJLESZTO KORLATOTL FELELOSSEGU TARSASAG · PecsHungary
  • HUN-REN WIGNER FIZIKAI KUTATOKOZPONT · BudapestHungary
  • M-SQUARED LASERS LIMITED · GLASGOWUnited Kingdom
  • MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV · MUNCHENGermany
  • PECSI TUDOMANYEGYETEM - UNIVERSITY OF PECS · PecsHungary
  • UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA · PadovaItaly
  • UNIVERSITAET KASSEL · KasselGermany
  • UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT · UtrechtNetherlands
  • WWW.NANO-KASSEL.DE GMBH · KasselCity levelGermany

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union