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Image: © Spencer Phillips, EMBL-EBI
 16.01.2019

Europe looks to cells for a healthier future

Researchers from the Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG-CRG) –based in the Barcelona Science Park and integrated into the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) take part in the LifeTime consortium, which aims at understanding the constant changes within cells and their relationship to disease. The initiative will receive one million euros to devise a plan how to embed its vision into the European research and innovation landscape.

 

The body’s cells are not static components, but rather dynamic units that undergo constant transformation. They develop and multiply, form tissues with numerous other cells, acquire new characteristics, or simply age. But which of these changes are healthy developments and which lead to serious diseases? This is what LifeTime, a transnational and interdisciplinary initiative of leading European researchers, wants to figure out. 

More than 120 scientists at 53 institutions in 18 European countries are supporting the LifeTime consortium, as are more than 60 partners from industry. The proposed groundbreaking initiative brings together not only researchers from the fields of biology, physics, computer science, mathematics, and medicine, but also experts from disciplines such as sociology, ethics, and economics.  The consortium, which includes Marc Marti-Renom and Holger Heyn, researchers at the CNAG-CRG, is jointly coordinated by the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin and the Institut Curie in Paris. 

This international consortium will be receiving one million euros over a one-year period in devising the plan for a fundamentally new approach to understanding the constant changes within cells and their relationships to one another, thus creating the foundation for the precision medicine of the future.  

LifeTime will significantly impact the pharma, biotech, and data processing industries, as well as other sectors. The exact diseases the initiative will focus on have yet to be selected. A public consultation will be undertaken to engage citizens and identify their concerns early in the project. A LifeTime Launch Event will be held in Berlin from May 6 to 7, 2019, where the consortium’s members will introduce the initiative and provide information on how LifeTime plans to strengthen life sciences and healthcare in Europe.

LifeTime Initiative [+]

► CNAG-CRG website [+]