A program gives 3,8 milion euros to train young researchers in cell therapy applied to neuronal disorders

The training program Advanced Stem Cell Technologies for Neurology (ASCTN-Training) has been launched. It is coordinated by Creatio, through the Research Group on Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine from the Department of Biomedicine of the UB. This program receives a fund of and which is funded with 3,8 milion euros thanks to the European Commission H2020 programme. ASCTN-Training groups eleven institutions, public and private ones, and offers training in interdisciplinary research and quality and high level cross-sectional skills.

The project will finance fourteen young researchers to develop cell therapies applied to neuronal disorders. They will also receive specific and cross-sectional training so that they can be employed in the academic and industry fields of biomedicine once they finish this training. ASCTN-Training will provide students with new cell technologies aimed at modelling neural disorders to speed up the development of new drugs. Therefore, the objective is to put together an inter- and trans-disciplinary approach to scientific training. Therefore, they will receive a training by experts on stem cells, physicists, business managers… The call is open to international PhD students that can apply for any country in which they have not lived for the last three years.

Advanced technologies to be developed will overcome the limits of current models and will enable researchers to replicate the traits of the nervous system; the existence of specific connections between identic and different cells that set functional neuronal networks. In vitro models that are valid for the brain circuit and disorders will speed up the discovery of medicines, improving the efficiency of neurotoxicological tests and their relation to have a better clinical and economic impact.

Among the participating entities is the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), which, together with Creatio take part in the project Advance(Cat) for the promotion of cell therapies and which is part of the RIS3CAT NEXTHEALTH community, coordinated by Biocat. Apart from the UB and IBEC, other members in the ASCTN-Training are Cardiff University, the Technical University of Dresden, the Karolinska Institute, Universidad Autónoma de MNadrid, the European Brain Council, Cairn Research Ltd, Plasticell Ltd; San Raffaele Hospital and Poietis.

Further information