European Consortium for Systematic Stem Cell Biology (EuroSyStem)
Research Areas
At a Glance
- Status: Completed Consortium
- Year Launched: 2008
- Initiating Organization: European Commission Sixth Framework Programme (FP6)
- Initiator Type: Government
- No disease focus
Abstract
The European Consortium for Systematic Stem Cell Biology (EuroSyStem) brought together elite European research teams to create a unique and world-leading program in fundamental stem cell biology. The project goal was to interlink complementary biological and computational expertise to drive the generation of new knowledge on the characteristics of normal and abnormal stem cells.
Mission
EuroSyStem concentrated on illuminating the molecular circuitry governing the decision between self-renewal and commitment to differentiation. By measuring and modeling stem cell properties and behavior, it paved the way for application of systems methodology. It mined and exploited information from studies and screens in model organisms, but its primary focus was the paradigmatic mammalian stem cell systems — hematopoiesis and epithelia in vivo, and embryonic and neural stem cells in vitro.
EuroSyStem cross-evaluated between systems issues of cellular hierarchy, signaling, epigenetics, dysregulation, and plasticity. Microenvironmental perturbation, asymmetric division, and transcriptional regulation were considered in a cross-cutting, mechanism-centered work package.
Its multidisciplinary approach included transgenesis, real-time imaging, multi-parameter flow cytometry, transcriptomics, ribonucleic acid (RNA) interference, proteomics, and single-cell methodologies.
Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contributed to the development of enhanced-resolution quantitative technologies. A platform work package provided new computational tools and database resources, enabling implementation of novel analytical and modeling approaches. EuroSyStem engaged with and provided a focal point for the European stem cell research community. The focused collaborations within the EuroSyStem research project were augmented by federating the best new independent European investigators working in different tissues and organisms.
Consortium History
March 2008: Project start
August 2012: Project end
Financing
The total cost was €16.0 million, of which the European Union contributed €12 million.
Impact/Accomplishment
EuroSyStem set and achieved the following major objectives during its four years:
Links/Social Media Feed
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Homepage |
Points of Contact
Jenny Walsham
Project Manager
Jo Butler
Planning and Communications Assistant
For project and events inquiries, contact the Project Office:
phone: +44 (0) 1223 760 288
fax: +44 (0) 1223 760 241
email: eurosystem-office@cscr.cam.ac.uk
For press inquiries, contact the Communications Officer:
Cathy Southworth
Communications Officer
phone: +44 (0) 131 651 9508
fax: +44 (0) 131 651 9501
email: eurosystem-comms@ed.ac.uk
Sponsors & Partners
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Dresden University of Technology |
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Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne |
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European Institute of Oncology |
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German Cancer Research Institute |
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Hemlmholtz Centre Muenchen |
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Hospital San Raffaele |
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IMBA – Institute for Biotechnology |
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Institut de genetique et de biologie moleculaire et cellulaire (IGCCM) |
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Institut Pasteur |
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Karolinska Institute |
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Lund University |
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Netherlands Cancer Institute |
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Netherlands Institute for Developmental Biology |
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Oxford Gene Technology |
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Universita degli Studi di Milano |
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University Groningen Medical Centre |
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University of Cambridge |
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University of Edinburgh |
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University of Leipzig |
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University of Oxford |