Research Objectives
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Identifying and defining novel molecular and cellular pathways of bidirectional communication between neurons and glia in the developing and the adult brain
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Defining alterations of neuron-glia interactions in the diseased brain using epilepsy as a central paradigm
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Identifying how the innate and adaptive immune system affect epileptogenesis and disease progression via inflammatory responses
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Developing better research instrumentation, novel drug screening and evaluation assays and disease models to reveal the diversity of neuron-glia interactions in the healthy and the epileptic brain
The research, in which the young scientists of the EU-GliaPhD consortium will be trained, is centred on the role of neuron-glia interactions in brain function and pathology. Since epilepsy is a complex brain disorder exhibiting a variety of pathological events also seen in other CNS diseases, the research projects of the ESRs will focus on neuron-glia interactions in epilepsy as a single, but paradigmatic disease to guarantee a high degree of network cooperation and synergism. Addressing the role of glial cells in epilepsy research is a rather novel approach and has never been utilized in an international, collaborative training programme.
