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H2020Doctoral network2018–2023

PoLiMeR · Polymers in the Liver: Metabolism and Regulation

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2018-10-01 → 2023-09-30
EU contribution
€4,035,404
Participants
19
Scheme
MSCA-ITN

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

Polymers in the Liver: Metabolism and Regulation

PoLiMeR: Polymers in the Liver – Metabolism and Regulation The PoLiMeR consortium is a Systems Medicing training network for young scientists of various disciplines and nationalities. We believe that the present day challenge to provide innovative therapies for a wide range of metabolic diseases requires strong international collaboration between experts from different scientific fields and sectors. Therefore, PoLiMeR has trained 15 PhD students in different aspects of Systems Medicine, including computational, laboratory, and clinical aspects of metabolic diseases. The students have carried out their research projects in 13 universities, small companies, and university hospitals in 7 European countries. Our PhD students come from all over the globe, from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. Our scientific focus was on the inherited metabolic diseases of carbohydrate and fat metabolism. Although individually rare (typically affecting less than 1 in 2,000 people), together the over 1,800 different inherited metabolic diseases have a serious impact on European health. Children, often suffering from severe and life-threatening symptoms, account for 68% of the patients. The wide variety of metabolic diseases dilutes the research efforts. Moreover, it becomes increasingly clear that individual differences with respect to history, lifestyle, and genetic make-up affect disease progression and treatment response. Specifically, the PoLiMeR consortium has: 1. Trained a new generation of PhD students in the computational, laboratory, and clinical aspects of Systems Medicine, who have experience in collaborations across boundaries of countries, scientific disciplines, and sectors. 2. Developed a Systems Medicine approach for the inherited diseases of carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the liver. These can contribute to innovative diagnostic tools and treatments and be more widely applicable to other diseases.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Metabolic diseases are a burden on the European population and health care system. It is increasingly recognised that individual differences with respect to history, lifestyle, and genetic make-up affect disease progression and treatment response. A Systems Medicine approach, based on computational models fed with individual patient data, has the potential to provide the basis for a personalised diagnosis and treatment strategy. The PoLiMeR consortium (Polymers in the Liver: Metabolism and Regulation) has identified the inherited, liver-related diseases of glycogen and lipid metabolism as the ideal starting point for innovative research training in personalised ‘Systems Medicine’. Our perspective opens possibilities for the application of novel drugs and diagnostic tools to a range of both rare and frequent diseases.To advance diagnostics and treatment of metabolic diseases beyond the state-of-the art, a new generation of scientists is needed. The complexity of the metabolic network and its aberrant behaviour in disease require experts with a deep knowledge and understanding of Systems Medicine approaches. The lack of truly interdisciplinary researchers, trained in the three ‘pillars of Systems Medicine’ - experimental, computational and clinical research - severely hampers progress in this field. PoLiMeR aims to fill this gap and brings together clinical, academic, and industrial experts on inherited metabolic diseases, computational modelling of the entire human metabolism, organ-on-chip technology, and detailed metabolic profiling. Our mission is to train our Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) to become dedicated Systems-Medicine experts, who can seamlessly collaborate between computational and wet-lab environments, and between clinical, academic, and industrial environments. This training will enable them to become the future leaders in the field and eventually make the difference for the patients.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

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Data: CORDIS, © European Union