The secrets of the transport of substances inside cells to be explained

The most prestigious scientific grant awarded by the European Research Council, the ERC Synergy Grant, goes to the team of Zdeněk Lánský from the Institute of Biotechnology of the CAS at the BIOCEV Centre. Together with French and American colleagues, he will investigate the function of a protein called tubulin, which is significantly involved in the transport of substances inside cells. The team is receiving CZK 270 million (EUR 11 million) over six years for the research, which may also shed light on the molecular processes of neurodegenerative diseases.

After its formation, the cytoskeletal protein tubulin is chemically modified in various ways within the cell. These so-called post-translational modifications affect a wide range of cellular processes - including intracellular transport, which is essential, for example, for the function of nerve cells. In the project, the team of Zdeněk Lánský will focus on how tubulin modifications control key intracellular transport processes and how these processes change during the life of an organism.

"Thanks to the ERC Synergy Grant, we have been able to create a consortium of groups whose research will complement each other so that we can elucidate the consequences of this mechanism at all relevant levels, from atomic details to their impact on the whole organism," says Zdeněk Lánský.

On the trail of serious pathologies

The project has the potential to significantly change the current understanding of how the cytoskeleton affects fundamental processes not only in nerve cells. Deregulation of tubulin modifications has been linked to serious pathologies such as neurodegenerative processes. Zdeněk Lánský's project may shed light on the molecular mechanisms that lead to these pathological changes.

ERC Synergy Grants are intended for multidisciplinary projects of two to four scientists and their research teams. Projects must demonstrate that the synergy between the involved scientists and their disciplines is central to the project and promises to achieve breakthroughs that would not be possible if the involved scientists worked independently.

Scientists from the Institute of Biotechnology at the BIOCEV Centre have already succeeded this year with their second project supported by the European Research Council. The first, an ERC Starting Grant, was awarded to Kateřina Rohlenová to investigate metabolic communication in tumours. 

RNDr. Zdeněk Lánský, Ph.D.

ABOUT THE ERC

The European Research Council (ERC) was established in 2007 by the European Union as the first pan-European funding organisation for frontier research, with the aim of stimulating scientific excellence in Europe by encouraging competition for funding among the best and most creative researchers, regardless of nationality or age.

The ERC also aims to attract top scientists from all over the world to Europe. It provides funding for young, excellent researchers at the start of their scientific careers (ERC Starting Grants), as well as for already independent and outstanding scientists (ERC Consolidator Grants) or experienced research leaders (ERC Advanced Grants).

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