Scientific relevance
The scientific innovativeness of the Stem Cells in Development and Disease project resides in:
- an integration of the expertise and research efforts of Dutch Developmental, Stem Cell and Molecular Biologists that will result in the advancement of knowledge on developmental signaling and cell identity and an understanding of disease processes important for our future health
- three novel (biochemical, genetic and diagnostic) technologies and their applications that will rapidly advance our knowledge of developmental signaling and disease.
- new bioinformatics resources on functional signaling cascades in normal/disease tissue and stem cells.
- a new biochemical tool which will allow us the simultaneous screening of all signaling pathway molecules in normal and disease cells.
- implementation of developmental signaling pathway knowledge by industrial collaborators for future therapeutic and marketable intervention strategies.
The novel technologies, applications, resources and tools generated by the consortium are expected to be highly sought after by the international academic/industrial research community.
The Stem Cells in Development and Disease program will focus on three main themes:
- Signaling pathways in development
- Control of gene expression during development (transcription and epigenetics)
- Stem cells and lineage differentiation
These themes can be organized into aspects that involve molecular discovery/diagnostics, validation of the role in development and/or cell differentiation, and utilization of knowledge to suggest new intervention strategies. We will use three novel biotechnology approaches (together with the new 3D optical library screening of ES cell-derived mutant mice) to provide an extremely powerful methodology in the analysis of the genetic and biochemical aspects of developmental processes and disease. The knowledge project involves 11 academic research laboraotories and 2 Dutch biotechnology companies and 2 international biotechnology companies.
What scientific/technical knowledge must be gained/skills developed The participants' research portfolios represent a full range of developmental systems. This program covers developmental aspects in which common themes, particularly molecular mechanisms, are emerging. For this, we envision great advantages in a common genetics and biochemical initiative, animal models and shared database resources. The scientific interactions/integration of the investigators and industry in the consortium, together with dedicated personnel and cutting-edge approaches and equipment will result in the synergistic increase in the fundamental knowledge of developmental processes and disease and lead to the further development of novel technologies and future therapeutic invention strategies in multifactorial disease and trauma.
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