For up to date information on ESBIGH, click here.
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Summary |
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Subject of this "Expression of Interest" (EoI) is the
establishment of a pan-European "Supra Network of Excellence"
(SoE) to maximise the benefits to human health from Systems Biology (SB) and
functional genomics. The SoE will unite and permanently integrate
various "Networks of Excellence" (NoE), Integrated Projects (IP),
as well as other recently initiated national programmes (NP) dedicated
to SB. As the function of all living cells depends upon dynamic interactions
between all cellular macromolecules (i.e. proteins, DNA, RNA), a molecule-to-system
approach will greatly enhance the understanding of the human organism
and its diseases and will enable the effective exploitation of
genomics for the improvement of human health. Multidisciplinary research
is necessary to translate the data accumulating from genomics into
applications of molecular medicine. Accordingly, the incorporation of SB into
genomics is multifaceted and cannot be covered by a single NoE. Several NoEs,
IPs and large-scale NPs, each devoted to well-defined aspects of SB, will
therefore be integrated in an overall context called the "European
Initiative on Systems Biology in the Service of Genomics and Health"
(ESBIGH). ESBIGH will bring about maximum synergy between the
individual SB modules through the transfer and integration of data and
know-how, the sharing of common databases, the organization and funding of
cross-connecting research activities, a common teaching programme and the
establishment of general Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). |
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ESBIGH Mission |
ESBIGH will catalyse the integration of all the first rate European expertise available in SB to explore the full potential of genomics for human health. It will open up novel perspectives in the diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, and treatment of human diseases. The ESBIGH SoE will provide tools for the study of, and for the development of improved therapies for human disorders, including monogenic and multifactorial diseases, such as those caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. ESBIGH will also engage in implementing those tools in corresponding studies at (pre)clinical and biotechnological stages. ESBIGH will help to integrate experimental SB (functional genomics) with theoretical SB (mathematical biology/integrative bioinformatics). ESBIGH will also promote the optimisation of biotechnological processes in industry, thus contributing to the high-yield production of recombinant pharmaceuticals and to sustainable production processes. ESBIGH will strongly promote the training of young scientists by coordinating European graduate schools and courses. Following the initial period of EC funding for ESBIGH networking, a suitable platform will be established for a European non-profit organisation on SB for genomics and health. This non-profit organisation will be financially independent through membership fees from companies and the licensing of expertise and technologies.
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Advanced Genomics for Health: What Do We Know about Genomics, Life and Health? |
The complete sequencing of genomes from several organisms has generated a
mass of information unimaginable just a few years ago. The majority of cellular
components (macromolecules) of living cells and organisms, including man, are
now well-understood at the DNA level. Despite these tremendous achievements, we
are still a long way from solving the puzzles of life and still fail to
understand complex living systems as wholes - a knowledge which could allow us
to cure most diseases. Although we are confronted with severe and
life-threatening diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardio-vascular
disorders, we fail to provide effective diagnosis and therapies in many
instances. At this point, we are just collecting the parts of the puzzle
(whole-genome sequences) and, although we know the structure and the sequence
of genes, many associated functions remain to be discovered. Hence, functional
genomics and molecular biochemistry are needed to unravel the functions of the
single components in the context of living cells.
Assuming that we knew the shape and function of every cellular macromolecule,
would we then understand life, and would this understanding bring us closer to
causal therapies for remaining diseases? The answer will certainly be
disappointing as long as we keep ignoring very important aspects. Imagine a
list of all the components of a TV set and their individual technical data.
Would this information be sufficient to understand how the whole TV set works?
Obviously not, as long as the wiring (i.e. the interconnections of all the
electronic parts) is unknown. A single misconnection can cause a TV to fail. Similar additional information about the connections
is indispensable in order to understand how complex biological systems such as
living cells work. In other words, knowing how the macromolecules are connected
and how that specific connectivity generates biological functions will provide
a key to the understanding of life. This idea is the driving force behind a
newly emerging multidisciplinary scientific
discipline termed Systems Biology. It was recently identified as
a "hot topic" in the media, perhaps due to the general understanding
that we are entering a new era in biology, involving scientists who are seeking
the fundamental mechanisms that control the phenomena of life and health, as
well as lead to the occasional failure of biological processes, i.e. disease.
Systems Biology (SB) thus focuses on the real
time study of the organisation and functional interaction of all molecules in
living cells and organisms. In the past, SB was hampered by a
lack of sufficient molecular data on living organisms. During the last decade,
this situation has dramatically improved due to the immense increase in the (i)
rate at which such data are generated, (ii) completeness of the dataset (e.g.
whole transcriptomes rather than bands on a Northern), and (iii) the progress
in information technologies that brought about the development of superior
methods and computer tools for pathway simulation, data storage and processing.
The next quantum leap in biomedical research will be achieved by joining these data and tools in a multidisciplinary,
experimental plus mathematical, SB approach. That approach will embrace different concepts and expertise from
fields like molecular biology, biophysics, biochemistry, genomics, informatics,
mathematics, systems engineering and molecular medicine. This "Systems
Biology meets Genomics" approach will pave the way to a better
understanding and the successful treatment of human diseases. Therefore, this proposal is dedicated to a European
Initiative on Systems Biology in the service of Genomics and Health (ESBIGH).
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Systems Biology for Genomics and Health: Networking European Excellence |
Europe holds a strong and propitious position in the field of SB and its
implementation in functional genomics because it can rely on excellent and
research expertise in the biosciences. SB evolved as a branch of theoretical
biology and is just beginning to blossom in Europe, reviving major research
traditions in areas such as self-organisation, metabolic control and
non-equilibrium thermodynamics/bioenergetics. Bioinformatics and mathematics
are also based on solid scientific fundaments throughout Europe. However, Europe has not yet become a common research area.
At present, the lack of coherence between diverse national scientific
programmes hampers effective concerted actions
and the integration of the European research
community as a counterbalance to the dominant US scientific
community. Notably, several US institutions and national initiatives are
dedicated to SB, some of which focus on human health (e.g. Institute for
Systems Biology in Seattle).
Indeed, many European countries are excellent with regard to individual
technologies related to SB, but none of them does well in all the SB fields
that need to be integrated to make SB work for Genomics and Health. Thus, we
propose to link the top European expertise in SB relevant to functional
genomics through a SoE termed ESBIGH. This SoE will integrate and exploit the "data pool" of genomics, the multidisciplinary approach of SB and the
intensive use of novel effective platform technologies (i.e. transcriptomics,
proteomics, metabolomics, bioinformatics, functional genomics). The strength of
this novel branch of research is the joining of
forces of different scientific disciplines: It is generally
accepted today that substantial progress can be made at the intersections of
different scientific disciplines. We expect many tremendous
scientific and economic benefits, e.g. through in silico models of major biological phenomena
in living cells and organisms (artificial models
of life), from the synergistic strength of such a SoE. The
outcome of ESBIGH will be relevant for applied science and industrial
applications in biotechnology and molecular medicine. Virtual cells for example will facilitate
drug development, studies on drug metabolism and drug detoxification will
reduce animal experiments. The biotech and pharmaceutical industries (both SME
and big pharma) will participate as cooperation partners in ESBIGH. ESBIGH
will also implement an industrial platform,
providing for the rapid transfer of know-how to biotechnology applications. ESBIGH
will also help manage individual intellectual property rights of its partners.
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ESBIGH: A Network of Networks |
The integration of pan-European research is beneficial given that only the
outstanding expertise of each country is recruited and actively involved in the
network. Most of the coordinators of the EoI involved in ESBIGH are
renowned scientists from the different fields relevant to SB and genomics. The
active support and general interest of all these scientists in the idea of ESBIGH
- confirmed in the Annex - indicates that Europe
is ready to think and act in a multidisciplinary mode at a systems-level!
We therefore propose to follow a unique and ambitious approach with ESBIGH:
European NoEs, IPs and NPs will each focus on their own identifiable modules of
SB relevant for medical genomics and molecular medicine. If these NoEs were to
act as individual consortia, most of the results and conclusions from these
networks would probably remain "hidden" from the scientific community
and potential applicants (except for publications in peer journals and EU
reports). In contrast, ESBIGH will create
synergy between the different NoEs, providing the necessary infrastructure to
collect, present and transfer findings to other networks and
scientists not directly involved in the SoE by means of a web-based platform,
printed materials, electronic newsletters, scientific consultancy by ESBIGH
coordinators, and frequent ESBIGH meetings.
One of the most important and demanding challenges for SB is the requirement to
satisfy the need for standardised data through standard
operating procedures (SOP). It is absolutely mandatory that data
are reproducible and thus suitable for modelling and computer-based simulation.
ESBIGH will therefore offer workshops to provide
training on essential requirements of data collection,
processing and other techniques relevant for SB. ESBIGH will coordinate and cooperate
with individual NoEs to start sharing expertise, protocols and software
platforms from an early stage. This joint approach will be unique and highly
beneficial for all participating teams, but also for the general scientific
community in related fields. Hence, ESBIGH will establish central
databases that will be freely accessible to the
entire scientific community. In this context, ESBIGH will
provide know-how and experience emanating from the participating NoEs and large
NPs. Furthermore, by bringing together the very best scientists in the field of
SB and genomics, ESBIGH will set up SOPs
for SB which ensure standardised protocols and high quality data
of the utmost reproducibility. The individual NoEs, IPs and NPs that are
partners in ESBIGH will focus on their own areas of SB for genomics and
health. An essential activity of ESBIGH is therefore to organise
communication and integration between these areas and between individual areas
and applications. ESBIGH will accomplish this through regular calls for
proposals, evaluations and funding for/of research activities that bridge the
participating NoEs, IPs and NPs.
Finally, ESBIGH will also emphasise the
integration and promotion of young scientists in(to) the ESBIGH
area through training networks, dedicated
European graduate schools, and continuous student exchange among
various NoEs and research teams. SB for genomics and health is an attractive
research topic for PhD students and postdocs from various disciplines. ESBIGH
will organise seminars, workshops, as well as student lecture courses through
established European granting agencies such as FEBS,
NATO and EMBO and,
of course, the EC on a regular
basis.
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Partners in ESBIGH |
The essence and explicit aims of ESBIGH are simple: It will create added value for advanced genomics in the context of human health by creating synergy between the NoEs, IPs and NPs. ESBIGH will remain open to new NoEs and IPs and will even catalyse the formation of new NoEs and IPs. ESBIGH will actively invite interested researchers, research institutions and other suitable organisations, on the premise of their excellent research performance. The structure of ESBIGH will facilitate the continuous integration of partners because each "member consortium" acts in parallel as an autonomous module. The criteria for including a new NoE in ESBIGH will be (i) its importance for Systems Biology, (ii) its importance for the routes from Genomics to human health, (iii) its scientific excellence, and (iv) likely synergy with the other NoEs in ESBIGH. This way, ESBIGH will not only serve as a "crystallisation nucleus" for further activities, but will also detect deficiencies that prevent the appropriate development of SB for Genomics and Health. Essential aspects of ESBIGH include:
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The Annex lists prospective NoEs and IPs which will join ESBIGH if they can acquire sufficient EC funding. In addition to EC-funded NoEs and IPs, large national SB programmes and institutions will participate in the SoE. Examples of such integrated national initiatives include the Amsterdam Silicon Cell and the German "Systems of Life - Systems Biology".
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Tasks of ESBIGH |
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Organisation of ESBIGH |
ESBIGH will be based on clear,
manageable and open organisational structures. First, the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) will be
the independent, decision-making panel of international (European) experts that
will supervise, control and coordinate the SoE. The SSC supports the successful
establishment and development of ESBIGH. One SSC member will be
appointed by the EC, three members by the scientific advisory board (see
below), and one member by the industrial partners. The SSC will elect a
chairperson out of its own ranks for each period of three years.
Second, the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB)
will consist of the coordinators of the participating NoEs, IPs, NPs and
industrial biotechnology partners. This board will meet twice a year and
discuss the general and most important results, problems and methodologies that
arise from the participating networks and initiatives. SAB members should be
accompanied by junior staff, who present the most recent research results. SAB
members will discuss special topics in more detail (e.g. standardisation, SOP,
IP, training, etc.) within the framework of separate workshops. Results of
workshops will be communicated to the SSC and placed on the web. On the basis
of conclusions from these meetings, integration projects will be redirected, public
calls for new proposals for IPs and projects formulated, and external groups
invited to join ESBIGH. As possible in FP6, ESBIGH will announce
dedicated calls for proposals. The board will discuss funding of research
proposals submitted after the calls, using external peer review to provide an
objective basis. The final decision will be made by the SSC.
Finally, the Organisational Board (OB)
will consist of the coordinators from the three (or more) core institutions involved in the technical
organisation of the SoE. The members will take care of the technical and
financial aspects of ESBIGH. They will meet regularly with
representatives of the Scientific Advisory Board, the Scientific Steering
Committee and the EC. The following institutions, all of whom are experienced
in the project management of large scale research programmes, will serve as
these ESBIGH core institutions:
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Training and Teaching within ESBIGH |
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The teaching of SB for genomics and health will be organised in three
modes and co-ordinated by an ESBIGH teaching committee to be appointed by the
SSC: |
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The Set-Up Phase of ESBIGH |
The preliminary scientific co-ordination of ESBIGH resides with a small transnational committee whose members include Roland Eils (mailto:r.eils@dkfz.de?subject=ESBIGH) of the German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Karl Kuchler (mailto:kaku@mol.univie.ac.at?subject=ESBIGH) of the University and BioCenter of Vienna, and Hans V. Westerhoff (chair pro tempore; mailto:hw@bio.vu.nl?subject=ESBIGH) from the BioCentrum Amsterdam. Responsibility for the secretariat will be with Jens Doutheil at the Dechema in Frankfurt. It is the explicit aim of ESBIGH to unite most if not all European groups whose work is excellent in the ESBIGH area, as well as a number of junior groups expected to develop towards such excellence. Interested groups, IPs, NoEs, and NPs are requested to contact Dr. Doutheil (mailto:doutheil@dechema.de?subject=ESBIGH).
All members of the preliminary transnational ESBIGH coordination team are also members of the Steering Committee of the German SB initiative, thus allowing an effective transfer of know-how and experience between the German approach and ESBIGH. They are also members of other such Steering Committees in the EU. The BMBF welcomes and encourages a common European SB approach and supports the integration of the "Systems of Life - Systems Biology" competence network into ESBIGH. It will contribute to the improved convergence and durable integration of national funding activities offering a "communication platform" between political and scientific stakeholders throughout Europe.
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Annex: Composition of ESBIGH |
Participating European NoEs, IPs and other national initiatives include:
(1) Participating European Networks (NoE) and Integrated Projects (IP). Inspecting the Expressions of Interest (EoI) submitted for the FP 6 before June 9, 2002, ESBIGH will contact all coordinators of EoIs related to system biology to see if they will submit an FP6 program proposal and whether they will want to link that to ESBIGH. Based on records of excellence, research plan, perspective of applicability, and sufficient representation of minority and junior excellent scientists, system biology consortia will be selected and asked to participate in ESBIGH. At present the following consortia have spontaneously expressed interest in teaming up through ESBIGH:
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- FEPACS: Fuel Ethanol Production from Alternative Carbon Sources (Richard, Helsinki, FI) IP - YSIC, Yeast Silicon Cell (Alberghina, Milano/Westerhoff, Amsterdam I/NL) IP - 3D Genomics (Van Driel, Amsterdam; NL) IP - Hierarchical Concepts (Gilles, Magdeburg, DE) IP - Virtual Biotechnology: in Silico Simulations of Cells and Animals as Novel Tools for Biology and Toxicology (VISION) (Moore & Allen, Plymouth, UK) IP - Omics united; a systems biology perspective from the genome to the physiome (Wolkenhauer, Manchester, UK) IP - Biosimulation - A New Tool for Drug Development (Mosekilde, Lyngby, DK) NoE - Nerve Cell Simulation (Cattaneo, Arisi, Rome, IT) IP - ABC-RescEU (Kuchler, Vienna, AT) IP - Microgravity and Life Sciences (Jack van Loon, Amsterdam, NL) NoE - BioTools (Hans Söderlund, FI) NoE - ESBCC: European alliance for Systems Biology applied to Cell Division and Cancer (Serrano, Barbacid, Wodak, Heidelberg, Madrid, Brussels, DE, ES, BE) IP - From the virtual cell to the real patient (De Meyts, Novo Nordisk, DK) IP - Building an integrated network of open source, compatible bioinformatics databases and tools enabling Systems Biology (Martin Kuiper, Gent, BE) NoE - Interaction Proteome. Functional Proteomics: towards defining the interaction proteome (U. Hartl/A K. Werenskiold, Martinsried, DE) IP - Cellular Signaling Networks in Tumor Biology
and Immunology
(Höfer & Heinrich, Berlin, DE) - Cellicium. From bio-array imaging to morphogenesis (Demongeot, Grenoble, FR) NoE - CROWD. Proteins in cells: structure, folding and interactions in crowded environments (Miquel Pons, Barcelona, ES) IP - DYNAMO. Platforms for Monitoring of Dynamics of Cellular Processes (Ruzgas/Emnéus/Owman, Lund, SE) IP - EUTERS. Environment for Unifying Theoretical and Experimental Research in Systems biology (Ursula Kummer/Rebecca Wade, Heidelberg, DE) IP - STYFF. Signal Transduction in Yeasts and Filamentous Fungi (Johan Thevelein, Leuven, BE) NoE - E-Plant. European Plant Systems Biology Network (Ferda Mavituna, Manchester, UK) NoE - PROTEUS. Functional genomics of the symbiotic and pathogenic alpha proteobacteria (Jean-Jacques Letesson, Namur, BE) IP |
(2) Contributing national initiatives (NPs)
include:
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The Amsterdam-centered Silicon Cell (SiC) programme is based on funding from various Dutch sources. It aims at the generation of precise replica of living cells and living organisms. It takes the strategy of first focusing on the better defined pathways and aspects of living cells, such as glycolysis, dynamic spatial heterogeneity in signal transduction around the E. coli PTS, temporal heterogeneity and dynamics in the cell cycle, and the energetics of DNA structure and gene expression. Although most of the result is in silico, most of the activity of the programme is in wet-lab experiments, in acquiring data that are not yet available in literature, or in validating such data. SiC also provides a web-based model 'data' base, in which in silico replica made by this initiative and other similar initiatives all over the world are made fully operational and ultimately integrated into replica of larger parts of living cell. The German "Systems of Life - Systems Biology" funding activity was recently implemented within the biotechnology framework programme by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The German SB initiative complements current BMBF programmes on genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics. It intends the early establishment of SB in Germany. The BMBF supports multidisciplinary research teams integrated in a competence network with a focus on the human hepatocyte. Participating groups consist of scientists from German universities and other research institutions, both SMEs and large pharmaceutical companies. Data will be shared between all partners and stored in central databases. The UK Network for Systems Theory and Genomics (Genetic Systems), funded by the EPSRC and coordinated by Olaf Wolkenhauer. The Swedish national systems biology initiative, coordinated by Stefan Hohmann, Gotheborgh The French CNRS National program « Energy from Biomass », coordinated by Gerard Goma, Toulouse The French network ARC CPBIO. Cooperative Research Initiative on Biological Processes and Process Calculi oordinated by François Fages, INRIA Rocquencourt, FR The Greek National Initiative on Structural Genomics coordinated by Mike Kokkinidis, Crete, GR
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(3) Interested individual research
groups/institutes.
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ESBIGH has received expressions of interest of various individual institutes and research groups that should like to contribute to ESBIGH. ESBIGH however is meant to be a consortium of consortia of research groups (i.e. of IPs, NoEs and NPs). Individual groups and institutes should therefore associate to ESBIGH through one of the consortia that affiliate to ESBIGH. ESBIGH will help catalyze this association by mediating between consortia and groups. A list of interested such groups can be obtained by clicking here. |
(4) Companies
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The companies supporting or involved in the IPs, NoEs and NPs that compose ESBIGH (see above) will be invited to take part in the industrial board of ESBIGH. A smaller number of companies will participate more directly in the steering of ESBIGH. At present several companies (both large multinationals and SMEs) are interested in this role. For further information please contact the ESBIGH team. |
(5) Non-profit organizations
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Non-profit organizations such as public research institutes or evaluation centers have expressed their interest to join ESBIGH. |