NWO XL grant worth 3 MEuro for project “Holey trap” led by Patrick Onck

The “Holey trap” team composed of Patrick Onck (project lead, Zernike Institute), Rifka Vlijm (Zernike Institute), Liesbeth Veenhoff (UMCG) and Cees Dekker (TU Delft) will address the role of unstructured proteins as filters in cellular transport processes.

The transport proteins in cells are highly selective, transporting only those molecules that have precisely the right shape: structure determines function. Until recently the nuclear pore complex, a large transport system to access the cell nucleus, was the only exception to this. Its selectivity for transport arises from a unique filter system based on unstructured proteins. Now, recently, a second filter system has been found (in peroxisomes) that works similarly but at a drastically reduced complexity. In this research programme we combine biological, physical and chemical methods to use this exciting opportunity to uncover how these filters system actually work.

The NWO Domain Science (ENW) XL grants are intended for consortia in which research groups use collaboration (coordinated consolidation of strength and areas of expertise) to create added value compared to individual projects, such as for example ENW-M grants.

NWO press release