UAB to coordinate European COST network on autophagy

Lecturer and researcher Caty Casas Louzao, of the research group on Neuroplasticity and Regeneration at the UAB's Institute of Neuroscience (INc), will lead the European Autophagy Research and Knowledge-Transfer Network TRANSAUTOPHAGY. This consortium will seek to promote collaboration and exchange of knowledge between companies, researchers in several disciplines (nanoscience, bioinformatics, physics, chemistry, biology and medicine), and other stakeholders. It will also count on the support of other members, like UAB researchers Julia Lorenzo (protein engineering and proteomics group at the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine IBB) and Jesús Ruberte (research group on vascular pathology in secondary complications of diabetes, Department of Animal Health and Anatomy), and promising new scientists at affiliated centres, such as Fernando Novio (functional nanostructured materials group at the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology - ICN2).
 
Autophagy is an essential mechanism for the maintenance of homeostasis in cells and in whole organisms. It controls the balance of nutrients and eliminates damaged or superfluous elements inside the cell, damaged proteins and even whole invading microorganisms.
 
In healthcare it is of great therapeutic importance, potentially capable of combating cancer, lupus erythematosus and neurodegeneration, among others. It has also shown itself to be a key element in the fight against tissue ageing.
 
In biotechnology, the modulation of autophagy has applications in optimisation of agricultural production and for using microalgae as alternative sources of energy. In fact, agriculture is the field of junior researcher and network member Núria Sánchez Coll of the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG, CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB consortium).
 
The TRANSAUTOPHAGY network will organise workshops and conferences to promote collaborative multidisciplinary research and forge ties between the various participants and, above all, between them and the companies taking part, such as Anaxomics, Prous Institut, and Vivia Biotech. The network will emphasise open innovation as a tool for finding creative solutions to problems: offering opportunities to young researchers and furthering gender equality. The main objective of the consortium is to translate the knowledge generated into products and processes that can be used in biomedicine and biotechnology. It will also work to disseminate and transfer research results to society: from recommendations for healthy ageing or preventing illness to new therapies, biocomponents or nanodevices to modulate autophagy more selectively, clinical applications like antitumoral or neuroprotective agents, or applications that use plants and microorganisms to make crop-growing more efficient or as an alternative source of energy.
 
The EU's COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) networks seek to set up international research networks based on nationally funded projects, with a duration of four years.