Project description
New blood in research will tackle blood disease in the aging
Blood performs critical functions including transportation of gases and nutrients, temperature and pH regulation, blood clotting and immune response. Dysfunctions in haematopoiesis (the process by which blood cells are formed) can have far-reaching detrimental effects. As we age, this process changes naturally. However, changes may also be associated with the development of haematological diseases including anaemia and certain cancers. The EU-funded ARCH project is training a cohort of young scientists to study the potential link between age-related changes in the haematopoietic system and the emergence of disease. Their contributions are expected to impact patient outcomes, the burden on the healthcare system and the competitiveness of the EU in this field.
Objective
ARCH is a network of highly qualified experts in experimental hematology created to decipher the causal relationship between the physiological changes in the hematopoietic system during lifespan and the parallel occurrence of specific age-related hematological diseases (pediatric, adult, elderly), with the aim to develop novel targeted therapeutic treatments. ARCH research will integrate the results from complementary model systems (cell lines, mouse models, cells from leukemia patients) and it will deploy a large panel of cutting-edge technologies, such as single cells genomics, epigenomics, genome editing and organoid cultures, in a multi-faceted effort. The ARCH ambitious goal requires scientific and financial resources beyond the capability of a single group. To reach this goal, the ARCH network brings together 15 beneficiaries (12 academic, 2 SMEs and 1 private research institute) and 5 Partner organisations (3 academic, 1 SME and 1 patients’ association). Two European Consortia are present through their italian nodes. ARCH will recruit 15 ESRs that will be all enrolled in PhD programmes. Besides research laboratory work, the ARCH training programme includes scientific, technical and transferable skills courses that will provide ESRs with a solid scientific culture and with awareness of responsible research and innovation issues. This broad portfolio will enable ESRs to become leading academic, clinic or industrial players in the field. The unique combination of scientific excellence, quality of the educational programme and experience in translating basic research into exploitable results will provide ARCH with the real possibility of positively contributing to the enhancement of European competitiveness in the development of innovative, targeted drugs/treatments for hematological diseases, which currently represent a serious socio-economical problem for the European health care system.
Fields of science
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Keywords
Programme(s)
Coordinator
20126 Milano
Italy