CORVOS — COmplement Regulation and Variations in Opportunistic infectionS

Results in brief

COmplement Regulation and Variations in Opportunistic infectionS

Problem/issue Opportunistic infections are infections which are predominantly affecting patients which do not have a fully functional immune system, either already from birth onwards, or acquired later, e.g. by drugs which downmodulate the immune system. Thus, in addition to the infections everybody will get, these patients also suffer from infections normally defended by a functional immune system. The pathogens involved in these opportunistic infections comprise all sorts of bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites and altogether these are the top killers worldwide. The immune system is very complex and consists of both cellular and humoral, i.e. liquid, parts, the latter containing a lot of proteins. One part of the immune system is already present a birth, called innate immune system, and another part develops during life, called acquired immune system. The target of this study is an important part of the humoral, innate, immune system, a cascade of proteins, called “complement system”. This is a major and crucial force in defending opportunistic infections. These infections are increasing, incompletely understood (as hardly unknown 55 years ago, before the advent of immunosuppressive drugs) and pose an enormous threat for all heath systems and cost a lot of money. They are therefore of utmost importance for all societies. Overall objectives The overall aim of CORVOS, for COmplement Regulation and Variation in Opportunistic infectionS, was to train 15 widely recruited and highly motivated early stage researchers, ESRs, on one hand and to learn more about the regulations and variations of complement in these infections (work package (WP) 1), decipher evasion mechanisms employed by the pathogens (WP 2), develop new diagnostic tools (WP 3) and inaugurate novel prevention and treatment measures (WP 4) on the other. Further aims were on one hand to improve the training of the ESRs to increase their scientific knowledge and transferable skills (WP 5) and to award them with a joint or double PhD by two European universities. Communication and dissemination activities (WP 6) aimed to promote CORVOS as an ambitious pan-European initiative of 10 European universities, 3 biomedical companies, 5 research institutes and 2 hospitals. Besides an excellent and comprehensive management of the entire project (WP 7), a very important aim was to keep the output for the future within sustainable actions (WP 8).

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Opportunistic infections are defined as infections caused by pathogens primarily affecting immunocompromised subjects. Due to the immunodeficiency, they are difficult to treat and together the top 2 killer worldwide. Opportunistic pathogens comprise bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites.Complement as a chief conductor of innate immunity plays a crucial role in immune defence against opportunistic pathogens. Research in this field is exploding, but also suffers from poorly coordinated intersectoral training of early stage researchers (ESRs).CORVOS, for COmplement Regulation and Variation in Opportunistic infectionS will train 15 widely recruited and highly motivated ESRs. They will fill the current scientific gap in the understanding of the role of complement in opportunistic infections, and translate this knowledge into clinical practice. ESRs will become creative alumni, all with a jointly awarded Double PhD of two European universities and equipped with entrepreneurial and clinical skills, making them attractive human resources to academia and industry alike. CORVOS is an ambitious pan-European initiative of 10 European universities, 3 biomedical companies, 2 research institutes and 3 hospitals that comprises an interdisciplinary doctoral programme including cross-sectoral secondments and training in transferrable skills. CORVOS includes 12 internationally renowned multidisciplinary scientists, 8 of them members of the European Complement Network. This established organization will ensure that the high quality and efficient implementation of the CORVOS training programme will sustain after its funding and will be embedded into existing doctoral and research training programmes across Europe.Ultimately, CORVOS doctoral and research training programme enables intersectoral research together with the transfer and exploitation of knowledge required to develop diagnostic and treatment options to save millions of lives currently lost to opportunistic infections.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

MEDIZINISCHE UNIVERSITAT INNSBRUCK · InnsbruckCoordinatorAustria
FORSCHUNGSZENTRUM BORSTEL LEIBNIZ LUNGENZENTRUM · BorstelGermany
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO · HelsinkiFinland
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA SANTE ET DE LA RECHERCHE MEDICALE · ParisFrance
LUNDS UNIVERSITET · LundSweden
REGION HOVEDSTADEN · HillerodDenmark
SEMMELWEIS EGYETEM · BudapestHungary
UNIVERSITA HUMANITAS · PIEVE EMANUELEItaly
UNIVERSITAET zu LUEBECK · LubeckGermany
UNIVERSITAIR MEDISCH CENTRUM UTRECHT · UtrechtNetherlands
UNIVERSITETET I OSLO · OsloNorway

CORVOS · COmplement Regulation and Variations in Opportunistic infectionS

Results in brief

COmplement Regulation and Variations in Opportunistic infectionS

Project objective

Participants

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