Multidisciplinary research training program to uncover cellular control of immuno-metabolism and prostate cancer progression

The EU Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (ITN) “TRAIN” (“Tribbles Research and Innovation Network”) was officially launched on 12th September 2016 at the kick-off meeting that took place at the facilities of Intelligent Pharma, Barcelona. The ITN, with a total budget of €3.8M, is coordinated by the University of Sheffield and includes 10 academic and industrial partners from the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Hungary, plus 7 partner organizations. The objective of this multidisciplinary research-training programme is to uncover cell-specific aspects of tribbles proteins (TRIB) -mediated control of immuno-metabolism and their impact on prostate cancer (PCa) progression. TRIB proteins are a recently described family of pseudokinases that have key roles in regulating our immune system and energy metabolism and also play an important role in the development of cancer. The approach for this training network will be to integrate cell biology and sophisticated in vivo models of both immuno-metabolic disease and PCa, complemented by specialist human disease biobank materials, cutting-edge genomics approaches, plus a drug discovery pipeline

TRAIN will provide a unique opportunity for a cohort of 15 PhD students to be trained at the interface of these different research areas and thereby furnish a new generation of scientists with the skills and knowledge to take the next step in understanding the complex mechanisms driving cardiovascular disease and câncer, paving the way for early diagnosis, prevention and the development of innovative, more ‘holistic’ therapies.

TRAIN will also fulfil the broader ITN training objectives that seek to develop excellence in European Doctoral training by incorporating a full curriculum of conferences, workshops and training events, so that young scientists and their supervisors can exchange research experiences, insights and ideas that will prepare them for a wide range of future careers.

Link to the article