METABOLIC REGULATION OF GENOME FUNCTION AND CELL IDENTITY

ongoing

NUCLEAR aims at educating future experts that can drive the emerging field of Metabolic Regulation of Genome Function and Cell Identity relevant for stem cell biology and cancer. It is a Doctoral Training Network composed of 14 beneficiaries and 12 partner organisations including three industrial partners, a training-oriented foundation, a patient support association from 8 EU member states, 1 associated country and a non-EU member state self-funding itself to the level of beneficiary. Given the highly interdisciplinary nature of this emerging field, no single institution can provide all suitable infrastructures and the know-how required for high-quality PhD-level training. To address this shortfall in training capacity, NUCLEAR brings together European leaders in metabolomics, functional genomics, chromatin regulation, stem cell biology and cancer with innovators in precision nutrition, mass spectrometry technologies and drug development. Together we are committed to the following: 1. To train 16 doctoral candidates (DCs) through an innovative program structured in four capacity axes and occurring on three complementary levels to deliver enabling scientific and transferable skills. 2. To guide DCs in collaborative research bridging boundaries of countries, sectors, and disciplines. 3. To address three key challenges that limit the advancement and exploitation of the field and that are the lack of tools to measure nuclear metabolism, the lack of understanding of underlying molecular mechanisms and the lack of targets for novel cancer therapies. 4. To build lasting infrastructures for dissemination, communication and exploitation promoting an entrepreneurial culture and maximizing and extending the impact of this proposal beyond its lifetime. 5. To increase the international visibility of European research by taking leadership in the emerging field of Metabolic Regulation of Genome Functions and Cell Identity.