Training European Experts in Inflammation: from the molecular players to animal models and the bedside

INFLANET, with full support from academia and industry, will train 15 future scientific experts of inflammation through a combination of individual research projects, collaborative efforts, and interdisciplinary and intersectoral training.

The prevalence of chronic inflammatory diseases in western societies is 5-7%, having a major impact on quality of life and healthcare costs.

Accelerating the pace of anti-inflammatory drug discovery and deepening insights into drug actions poses a formidable challenge.

This requires a comprehensive understanding of inflammatory processes, allowing us to link the underlying genetic, molecular and cellular events to the physiological processes in inflamed tissues. The ultimate goal of INFLANET is to provide innovative solutions for key bottlenecks in the inflammation field.

To this end, we aim to:(1) Understand how inflammatory signals are detected, integrated by inflammasome platforms, and propagated into tissues (2) Take omics approaches to elucidate the genetic bases of inflammatory disorders and inform therapeutic strategies(3) Use cutting-edge intravital imaging strategies in animal models to study molecular and cellular mechanisms of inflammatory processes, and anti-inflammatory drugs actions(4) Develop original mathematical modelling tools to analyse the wealth of data generated, to inform disease model development, and to provide tools for physicians to understand the pathological basis of inflammatory disordersOur unique training approach will unite scientists from very different fields of biology, including structural biologists, bioimagers, immunologists, and geneticists, with mathematicians, programmers and modellers.

Moreover, our intersectoral training will foster business thinking and entrepreneurship.

Together, INFLANET will deliver a complete curriculum for the next generation inflammation scientists, mastering phenomenological understanding, medical imaging, high content screening and therapeutic strategies.