University of Coimbra participates in research projects to find novel therapeutic approaches to cardiovascular conditions, rare diseases and nervous system disorders
The three projects, funded by Horizon Europe, which have won a total amount of funding of more than 16 million euros, are being developed at the Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, through the Advanced Therapies research group.
English version: Diana Taborda
The University of Coimbra (UC) is involved in three European projects that use cutting-edge technology to find innovative approaches for the treatment of cardiovascular conditions, rare diseases and nervous system disorders.
The studies aim to advance novel therapeutic approaches for prevalent diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, pathologies with no treatment options or with limited therapeutic treatments, such as several rare diseases or spinal cord injury. The main goal is to improve translational research, enhancing the replication of science in clinical practice and thus improving patients' quality of life, with swifter and more effective treatments for their health conditions.
"DREAMs", "REBORN" and "Piezo4Spine" are the three projects funded by the European Commission's Horizon Europe programme, with overall funding of over 16 million euros (over 7.7 million for the "DREAMs" project, around 5 million for "REBORN" and over 3.5 million for "Piezo4SpineAt the University of Coimbra, the projects are being conducted by the Advanced Therapies research group of the Centre for Neurosciences and Cell Biology (CNC-UC).
The "DREAMS" project, coordinated by the Centre for Stem Cell Studies (CECS, France) and involving 9 partners, has a duration of 5 years and aims to find new responses to the scientific, financial and regulatory challenges affecting the production of pharmaceuticals for rare diseases, many of which still have no treatment options.
In the field of cardiovascular diseases, the University of Coimbra is part of the 4-year project "REBORN - Remodelling of the infarcted heart: piezoelectric multifunctional patch enabling the sequential release of therapeutic factors", coordinated by the Polytechnic University of Turin (Italy) and involving 10 European partners. Cardiovascular diseases cause 3.9 million deaths in Europe every year, and due to the heart's limited regenerative capacity when impaired by structural and functional cardiac alterations, the research team aims to "develop an intelligent and multifunctional cardiac patch, made up of materials and molecules able to stimulate the heart tissue, which may help to significantly prevent heart failure in patients who have survived acute myocardial infarctions, thus reducing mortality and improving patients' quality of life", says Lino Ferreira, researcher at CNC-UC and FMUC (Faculty of Medicine).
"Piezo4Spine - Piezo-driven theramesh: A revolutionary multifaceted actuator to repair the injured spinal cord", is a project coordinated by the Spanish state agency Conselho Superior de Investigaciones Científicas that brings together 7 European partners and aims to develop a novel therapy for spinal cord injury. The existing therapeutic options for patients with this condition are limited to symptomatic treatment. In order to tackle the need for a treatment that leads to recovery and not just symptoms relief, the research team plans to "use the latest breakthroughs in nanotechnology, molecular biology and tissue engineering to create a 3D bio-printed mesh (3D-theramesh) able to target the lesion with various gene therapy agents and thus enable functional recovery", Ferreira adds.
"The participation of the Advanced Therapies research group in three international projects, all starting in 2023, is a huge responsibility, but it is also an excellent opportunity to promote the basic and translational science carried out at CNC-UC and FMUC", says Lino Ferreira. The three research projects will hire 10 scientists over the next 5 years.