With a consortium with complementary expertise in Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Pharmacology and Clinical Oncology, and a strong commitment of companies involved in drug discovery or in the development of state-of-the-art biophysical instrumentation, we aim to:
- obtain a detailed picture of the mechanism of action and the physiological role of a number of DNA helicases that are implicated in human diseases
- discover specific inhibitors of those enzymes, which can then be tested as novel therapeutic drugs, especially for cancers
- address the need for training next generation scientists with complementary approaches and diverse techniques by secondments in different laboratories of the consortium
- promote a culture of collaboration between academic and private sectors and provide young scientists with the necessary experience and skills to exploit the full potential of research findings
- provide researchers at an early stage of their career with greater opportunities to access an increasingly competitive job market
- promote the values of Open Science and educate young scientists on the importance of developing a culture of openness, transparency, sharing, accessibility, integrity and reproducibility.
The objectives of the AntiHelix Research Programme are to:
- investigate the structure-function relationships and the reaction mechanisms of a group of medically important human DNA helicases (RECQ1, BLM, RECQ4, PIF1, RTEL1, FANCJ and DDX11)
- unveil the specific roles played by these DNA helicases in cellular genome maintenance pathways;
- discover and characterise novel helicase-specific small molecule inhibitors, which have the potential to be translated into anticancer drugs.
The objectives of the AntiHelix Training Programme are to:
- provide trainees with a critical understanding of the full range of interdisciplinary tools available to modern biologists
- expose trainees to the private sector and teach them the scientific and managerial aspects of the process of drug design
- expose the trainees to the value of Open Science and Responsible Research and Innovation, and educate them in the need for transparency, integrity and reproducibility in research
- develop transferable skills essential for career opportunities in a competitive European job market
- disseminate best practice and initiate a closer integration with the local PhD schools, with particular emphasis on the interaction with the private sector.