ASCTN-Training — Training on Advanced Stem Cell Technologies in Neurology

Results in brief

Training on Advanced Stem Cell Technologies in Neurology

ASCTN-Training was addressing existing gaps within stem cell-based technologies to study Neurological Disorders (e.g. Parkinson´s, Huntington's and Demyelination’s diseases), including the modelling of these devastating diseases to develop new medicines for their treatments. Neurological Disorders occur because of the acute or progressive loss of brain cells, structures, and functions in the brain. They have a high prevalence and are associated with short- and long-term impairments and disabilities with a high emotional, financial, and social burden on the patients, their families, and their social network. Neurodegenerative diseases are mostly incurable and affect millions of people. In addition to the suffering, these diseases have a gigantic economic impact, calculated to be higher than 130 billion € per year in Europe. To decrease human suffering and reduce costs to society, new scientific discoveries and technologies are urgently needed. The main objective of ASCTN-Training was to train a new generation of 14 highly inter-disciplinary early-stage researchers, capable of mastering techniques and methods across the borders of their own disciplines and recognizing ideas applicable to their own work. During that period, the early-stage researchers were involved in mimicking the neurodegenerative disease, both physiologically and anatomically, study cell-cell and cell tissue interactions, stablishing cell differentiation protocols, and characterizing all the studies. In general, all these studies carried out by early-stage researchers allowed for improvements in the current strategies to properly reproduce the neurological disorders and thus better characterize them.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Neuronal disorders (NDs) are associated with behavioural and cognitive impairments and have a high prevalence. As such they are a high emotional, financial and social burden on the patients and their social network. To reduce the impact of NDs new scientific technologies and disease models must be developed, and specialized professionals are needed. The primary aim of ASCTN-Training is to provide the appropriate training for the participating ESRs, so that each individual ESR will complete a PhD degree based on their research work, while at the same time equipping them with the necessary tools to collaborate and develop innovative technologies for the modeling of NDs and the development of novel therapiesASCTN-Training consists of six closely interlinked Work Packages (WPs), the central theme – techniques for modeling neuronal disorders - will be executed through scientific WPs 1-3 – biotechnology, molecular neurobiology and preclinical studies - where individual ESRs will be trained together across multiple scientific disciplines. Training will be achieved using the different didactic methods in WP4 – education and training - to enable efficient work on each ESR project as well as in joint efforts with other ESRs both within and across WPs1-3. Each ESR project is directly or indirectly linked to other ESR projects and contributes various parts to the different scientific WPs, which in turn will make a large contribution to the completion of the scientific deliverables. The education, training and industrial secondments will provide ESRs with training in both individual scientific disciplines and inter-disciplinary fields. This approach will provide ESRs with the transferrable inter-sectorial skills and tools that will prepare them for innovative thinking and true inter-disciplinary work. Communication, dissemination and exploitation of the results that are obtained will be achieved through WP5 while ASCTN-Training as a whole will be managed through WP6.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA · BarcelonaCoordinatorSpain
CARDIFF UNIVERSITY · CARDIFFUnited Kingdom
Cairn Research Limited · FavershamUnited Kingdom
FUNDACIO INSTITUT DE BIOENGINYERIA DE CATALUNYA · BarcelonaSpain
KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET · STOCKHOLMSweden
OSPEDALE SAN RAFFAELE SRL · MilanoItaly
PLASTICELL LIMITED · LondonUnited Kingdom
POIETIS · PessacFrance
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET DRESDEN · DresdenGermany
THE EUROPEAN BRAIN COUNCIL AISBL · Bruxelles / BrusselBelgium
UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE MADRID · MadridSpain

ASCTN-Training · Training on Advanced Stem Cell Technologies in Neurology

Results in brief

Training on Advanced Stem Cell Technologies in Neurology

Project objective

Participants

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