Immunometabolism pathways as the basis for innovative anti-viral strategies (INITIATE): A Marie Sklodowska-Curie innovative training network.
Bernadette van den Hoogen, Angela Santoni, Giuseppe Sciumé, Andrew Bowie, Cliona O'Farrelly, Luke O'Neill, Marit Anthonsen, Katerina Pardali, Simon Young, Andreas Bergthaler, Nicolas Manel, Roland Zahn, Marjolein Kikkert, Eric Snijder, Frank van Kuppeveld, Ron Fouchier, John Hiscott
Author Information
Bernadette van den Hoogen: Department of Viroscience, Erasmus MC, 3015 GD, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Electronic address: b.vandenhoogen@erasmusmc.nl.
Giuseppe Sciumé: Istituto Pasteur Italia Cenci Bolognetti Foundation, 00161, Rome, Italy.
Andrew Bowie: School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, 152 - 160 Pearse St., Dublin 2, Ireland.
Cliona O'Farrelly: School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, 152 - 160 Pearse St., Dublin 2, Ireland.
Luke O'Neill: School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, 152 - 160 Pearse St., Dublin 2, Ireland.
Marit Anthonsen: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7006, Trondheim, Norway.
Simon Young: AstraZeneca, Pepparedsleden 1, 431 50, Mölndal, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Andreas Bergthaler: CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
Nicolas Manel: Stimunity, 57 Rue d'Amsterdam, 75008, Paris, France.
Roland Zahn: Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V., 2333 CN, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Marjolein Kikkert: Molecular Virology Laboratory, Department of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Eric Snijder: Molecular Virology Laboratory, Department of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Frank van Kuppeveld: Virology Division, Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, 3584 CL, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Ron Fouchier: Department of Viroscience, Erasmus MC, 3015 GD, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
John Hiscott: Istituto Pasteur Italia Cenci Bolognetti Foundation, 00161, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: john.hiscott@istitutopasteur.it.
The past century has witnessed major advances in the control of many infectious diseases, yet outbreaks and epidemics caused by (re-) emerging RNA viruses continue to pose a global threat to human health. As illustrated by the global COVID19 pandemic, high healthcare costs, economic disruption and loss of productivity reinforce the unmet medical need to develop new antiviral strategies to combat not only the current pandemic but also future viral outbreaks. Pivotal for effective anti-viral defense is the innate immune system, a first line host response that senses and responds to virus infection. While molecular details of the innate immune response are well characterized, this research field is now being revolutionized with the recognition that cell metabolism has a major impact on the antiviral and inflammatory responses to virus infections. A detailed understanding of the role of metabolic regulation with respect to antiviral and inflammatory responses, together with knowledge of the strategies used by viruses to exploit immunometabolic pathways, will ultimately change our understanding and treatment of pathogenic viral diseases. INITIATE is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Innovative Training Network (MSCA-ITN), with the goal to train 15 early stage PhD researchers (ESRs) to become experts in antiviral immunometabolism (https://initiate-itn.eu/). To this end, INITIATE brings together a highly complementary international team of academic and corporate leaders from 7 European countries, with outstanding track records in the historically distinct research fields of virology, immunology and metabolism. The ESRs of INITIATE are trained in these interdisciplinary research fields through individual investigator-driven research projects, specialized scientific training events, workshops on academia-industry interactions, outreach & communication. INITIATE will deliver a new generation of creative and entrepreneurial researchers who will be able to face the inevitable future challenges in combating viral diseases.
