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H2020Doctoral network2017–2021

transMed · Educating the next generation of scientists in translational medicine: Focus on eye diseases

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2017-12-01 → 2021-11-30
EU contribution
€3,327,703
Participants
14
Scheme
MSCA-ITN-ETN

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

Educating the next generation of scientists in translational medicine: Focus on eye diseases

In medicine today there is a clear gap between a wealth of promising results obtained in basic research and their successful translation into clinical practice. To bridge this gap, the transMed ETN programme educated a new generation of “translational researchers” in a variety of areas key for successful clinical translation. This included training on disease mechanisms, biomarkers, pharmaceutical development, regulatory affairs, clinical trials, and many other topics, along with the respective techniques and technology. In this way the young researchers were provided with a broad overview, which in their future careers will enable them to design and forward the bench-to-bedside development of new treatments. The medical field on which transMed focussed was neurodegenerative diseases of the retina. This is an area of research where on the one hand a large medical need exists and where on the other hand the intrinsic properties of the eye allow for relatively easy experimental interventions and direct visualization of outcomes. Moreover, the methods and techniques used in basic retinal research are very similar to what is used in clinical practice, facilitating translational work. Several of the transMed projects build on the predecessor EU-funded DRUGSFORD project in which novel compounds targeting the cGMP-signalling system were produced and tested. transMed work extended significantly beyond this state-of the-art and, for instance, further promoted the development of compounds and their formulations towards clinical applications.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Medicine today experiences a gap between basic research and successful clinical translation that delays establishment of urgently needed therapies. This is very clearly so in blinding retinal degenerations (RDs), where most are yet untreatable, even with a wealth of basic and pre-clinical research data available. To address this problem, transMed proposes an innovative programme to educate “translational researchers” that focuses on the bench-to-bedside development of treatments for RD.The transMed consortium joins four academic groups (EKUT, UNIMORE, ULUND, HI) with four non-academic and SME partners (SPPD, INCU, Oculis, PamGene), and five partner organisations (2BBB, BIOLOG, NLO, HCTC, EVI) with intersectoral collaborations already ongoing. Each transMed partner will contribute specific critical expertise to a curriculum covering all major aspects of translational research: From basic research into disease mechanisms and target definition, to drug design and development, in vitro test systems and in vivo disease models, drug delivery systems, biomarkers, good manufacturing practice, toxicological testing and pharmacokinetics, regulatory affairs, intellectual property, all the way to clinical trials and commercialisation.transMed builds on and integrates three relevant translational projects, which are at the early pre-clinical, late pre-clinical, and early clinical stages, respectively, to provide the project’s Early Stage Researchers with the broadest possible overview. The training is completed by e-lectures, the inclusion of dedicated conferences for young researchers, a secondment and hands-on course programme from industry to academia and vice versa, permitting further insight and networking in the European biotech industry. Altogether, transMed will offer its students the opportunity to obtain a competitive PhD degree in several critical areas of biomedical research, providing for a strong employability in both the private and public sector.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • EBERHARD KARLS UNIVERSITAET TUEBINGEN · TuebingenCoordinatorGermany
  • 2-BBB MEDICINES BV · LEIDENNetherlands
  • BIOLOG LSI FORSCHUNGS- UND BETEILIGUNGS-GMBH · BREMENGermany
  • EUROPEAN VISION INSTITUTE - EEIG · Bruxelles / BrusselBelgium
  • HASKOLI ISLANDS · ReykjavikIceland
  • INOCURE SRO · PrahaCzechia
  • LUNDS UNIVERSITET · LundSweden
  • MEDIZINISCHE HOCHSCHULE HANNOVER · HannoverGermany
  • NLO European Patent and Trademark · DEN HAAGNetherlands
  • OCULIS EHF · REYKJAVIKCity levelIceland
  • PAMGENE INTERNATIONAL BV · S HERTOGENBOSCHNetherlands
  • RISE RESEARCH INSTITUTES OF SWEDEN AB · BorasSweden
  • SP PROCESS DEVELOPMENT AB · BORASSweden
  • UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MODENA E REGGIO EMILIA · ModenaItaly

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union