€4 million EU subsidy for research into mechanisms of disease and lifespan

A research network, in which Ellen Nollen of the UMCG also participates, has received an EU subsidy of € 4 million. The network, called HealthAge, will investigate the mechanisms that determine or influence disease and life span. With the subsidy, the network can attract 15 young researchers. The network is an international partnership of 11 universities, 4 other laboratories and 6 partner organizations from 10 European countries.

The research that is set up from the network mainly focuses on new approaches to age-related diseases and is divided into various sub-studies. Molecular biologist Ellen Nollen leads one of these sub-studies. Her work focuses on understanding the molecular basis of age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's or Parkinson's. In this study she wants to identify the exact role of hereditary factors that harm ordinary proteins in such disease processes. She also wants to examine how this knowledge can be translated into new therapeutic strategies.

The grant amount was provided by the EU under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie program. This program aims to give young novice researchers the opportunity to improve their research skills, to collaborate with established research teams and to broaden their own career opportunities. Parts of the training of the young researchers include multidisciplinary workshops and annual network meetings. The recruitment for these 15 researchers starts in December. The condition for the subsidy is that the projects involve several organizations from different European countries and that there is close cooperation between research institutes and the business community.