Biologists and medics will link knowledge
25 February 2010
NWO and ZonMw invest 13 million euro in systems biology
NWO and ZonMw are investing 13 million euro in three Dutch centres for system biology. In these centres biologists, medics, chemists, physicists, mathematicians and computer scientists shall join forces to gain a better understanding of living organisms. The centres shall be located at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam and the Radboud University in Nijmegen.
Mapping the entire human genome was world news. Meanwhile, databanks have been set up full of information about genes, proteins, ecosystems, energy metabolism and other biological processes. Thanks to the enormous increase in the calculating power of computers all of these data can now be linked. The outcomes of this process shall reveal which new experiments must be performed. System biologists shall use the results in new models to study the correlations between all of the factors. In the future, for example, system biologists want to more accurately predict the effect of medicines, reduce energy consumption by industrial bioprocesses and understand disrupted ecosystems in greater detail so that the recovery of these can be better facilitated.
Centre 1
Systems Biology Centre for Energy Metabolism and Ageing (SBC-EMA), Groningen
The Systems Biology Centre for Energy Metabolism and Ageing (SBC-EMA), located at the University of Groningen, receives a grant of €4 million. This centre will investigate the relationship between energy metabolism and ageing. Comparisons of different species of living organism, from the smallest unicellular bacterium to the largest elephant, reveal that the amount of energy individual creatures use during their lifespan per unit of body mass, is strikingly consistent. An economic use of energy appears to be correlated with a longer lifespan. Within a species this relationship is not automatically valid, and despite the extra energy involved, (mild) exercise can prolong life. What causes these effects is not yet known. Energy metabolism and ageing are complex processes characterised by the interplay of a great many factors. Elucidating the connections between these processes therefore requires an interdisciplinary, systems biology approach. Computer models will be developed, which will be experimentally validated using mainly yeast cells and mice. By connecting the outcomes of the SBC-EMA research centre to a broad long-term epidemiological study called 'lifelines', the centre hopes to obtain more knowledge about 'healthy ageing'.
Centre 2
Cancer Systems Biology Centre (CSBC), NKI Amsterdam
The Cancer Systems Biology Centre (CSBC), affiliated to the Netherlands Cancer Institute and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital (NKI-AVL) in Amsterdam, receives a grant of €4.5 million. This centre wants to gain a detailed understanding of two complex mechanisms involved in the onset of breast cancer. The researchers will do this by examining the reactions shown by cell cultures, intact tumours and other tissues in the body. These two systems involved in the development of breast cancer shall be examined at various levels with the help of patient data but even more importantly, experiments with human cell lines and special strains of mice. With this information the researchers hope to develop computer models that can more accurately predict the effect of targeted treatments. The results generated by this centre can also contribute to a more precise diagnosis of the type of breast cancer and a more effective treatment of it. The knowledge acquired can subsequently be used to analyse other forms of cancer and other diseases using a systems biology approach.
Centre 3
Centre for Systems Biology and Bioenergetics (CSBB), Nijmegen
The third centre, which also receives a grant of €4.5 million, is the Centre for Systems Biology and Bioenergetics (CSBB; www.csb-bioenergetics.nl). The new centre is affiliated to Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre and Radboud University Nijmegen. The research at the CSBB shall focus on the production of energy in the cell, and in particular on one important key biochemical complex. Living cells use this complex for the efficient generation of energy. The production of the various proteins contained in this complex, their transport to the assembly point and accurate assembly there, and the flawless functioning of this complex each require a precise orchestration. The complicated pattern of mutual interdependencies around this complex could clarify why many symptoms and diseases are associated with disruptions to the energy metabolism.
In this centre, the researchers think that they will be able to better predict and understand disruptions at the levels of molecules, tissues, organs and patients. This will allow new and safer treatments (drugs, but also individualised diets) to be developed.
NWO
The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) is the principal Dutch science funding body and its mission is to facilitate excellent scientific research in the Netherlands by means of national competition. Each year NWO spends more than 700 million euro on grants for top researchers, on innovative instruments and equipment, and on institutes where top research is performed. NWO funds the research of more than 5300 talented researchers at universities and institutes. Independent experts select proposals by means of a peer review system. NWO facilitates the transfer of knowledge to society.
ZonMw
ZonMw is the Dutch organisation for health research and innovation in healthcare. ZonMw works on improving prevention, healthcare and health by stimulating and funding research, development and implementation. ZonMw’s work terrain is at the interface between research, policy and innovation in health and healthcare, which makes it a unique organisation. ZonMw receives its commissions from NWO and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.
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Note for the press, not for publication
For further information please contact:
- David Redeker (NWO, spokesperson)
- t.: +31 70 344 0714 / +31 6 12 35 16 03
- e-mail: d.redeker@nwo.nl
