Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major worldwide cancer burden with about 1.4 million cases in 2012 and an annual mortality of approximately 700,000. Early detection is crucial as treatment is most efficient in early stages where population based screenings could substantially reduce incidence and mortality. Current screening techniques are invasive or lack sensitivity and specificity. Moreover, the molecular mechanisms leading to the formation of different antigens suggested as CRC biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets are poorly understood, especially with regard to carbohydrate-based molecules, such as glycans. Enhancing our understanding of the structurefunction relationship of glycosylation in CRC could lead to the discovery of improved diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and pave the way for nov-el therapeutic targets. Building on an established network of analysts with many years of experience in (glyco)proteomics and biomarker research, in collaboration with colleagues in the field of glycobiology and glyco-immunology, GlyCoCan will develop new methods, and use current state of the art methods, to investigate the role of glycosylation in many different aspects of CRC. The GlyCoCan multi-disciplinary network will principally be a training programme with a substantial industrial focus on technology transfer and teaching of internationally adopted biopharma regulations (GMP, ISO9001, ICH guidelines). The underlying specific research objectives will be addressed within individual ESR projects, giving rise to a generation of ESRs whose main focus is investigating and tackling the challenges of the role of glycosylation within CRC and other diseases. The network will address the currently unmet need for glycosylation researchers with an inter-disciplinary perspective to fully exploit the immense potential of the young scientific field of glyco-oncology and to set them on a path to successful and productive careers in academic and industrial collaborations.
Project details
Unibo Team Leader: Fabio Dall'Olio
Coordinator:
Academisch Ziekenhuis Leiden(Netherlands)
Other Participants:
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - Università di Bologna
(Italy)
Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes
(France)
Universidade Nova De Lisboa
(Portugal)
Genos Doo Za Vjestacenje I Analizu
(Croatia)
Stichting Vu
(Netherlands)
Ludger Ltd
(United Kingdom)
Max Planck - Innovation Gmbh
(Germany)
Total Eu Contribution: Euro (EUR) 3.293.890,92
Project Duration in months: 48
Start Date:
01/09/2015
End Date:
31/08/2019
Cordis webpage
Project website
This project contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 676421