European Calcified Tissue Society - Postdoctoral Fellowship

ECTS Postdoctoral Fellowship

Deadline date 12 November 2010
2010 Award Announcement

The application procedure for the 2011 award is now open. The 2011 award will be announced during the3rd Joint meeting of the European Calcified Tissue Society and International Bone and Mineral Society 7-11 May 2011 in Athens, Greece

Online Application Form (Members Only)

Grants are available for European postdoctoral fellows to assist with expenses relating to their own research project, which must be relevant to the field of calcified tissues and related topics.
The purpose of this grant is:

to help meet some of the immediate costs of a project relevant to the field of calcified tissues
to support and stimulate research on calcified tissues and related topics
to assist in attracting young researchers to join the ECTS

Projects based on collaboration between European laboratories are more than welcome and will be favorably considered.
Amount
The total amount available is €20,000 (Euro) payable in installments over a 2 year period
Eligibility
Candidates must fulfill the following criteria:

applicant must be a European member of ECTS and be working in a European institution. Applications will be considered from European members who are working in an International institution if a strong case can be presented for performing the research outside of Europe
applicant may only apply for one award (i.e. applicants for an ECTS Postdoctoral Fellowship may not apply for any other ECTS award in the current year)
applicant to be within 10 years of gaining MD or PhD
previous recipients of an ECTS Postdoctoral Fellowship, ECTS/Amgen/GSK Bone Biology Fellowship, ECTS/Servier Fellowship, ECTS Career Establishment award or ECTS PhD Studentship are not eligible to apply

Please note

applicants are encouraged to seek funding from alternative sources for their research. However, successful applicants will be requested to complete a declaration form to state that they have not gained simultaneous funding from another organization towards the support of his/her salary for the same research project. Accordingly, the successful applicant is expected to inform ECTS in this event and the ECTS Board will make appropriate adjustments to the award, up to a complete withdrawal if the amount obtained from the other source covers 100% of the applicant’s salary
funds are not to be used for university/institution overheads
applications must be made on-line from the ECTS web site
grants can be used for salary, consumables, travel, fees or supplies but cannot be used for university/institution overheads
applications must be made on-line from the ECTS web site

Review Procedure
All applications are reviewed by an independent panel of reviewers and any conflicts of interest are identified and dealt with appropriately.

Report
Successful candidates will be required to submit a written report on the progress of their research at the end of the grant period and the final installment will be payable on receipt of the report.

2010 award announcement

The 2010 ECTS Postdoctoral Fellowship was announced during the 37th European Symposium on Calcified Tissues in Glasgow on Monday 28 June to Davide Ruffoni (Zurich, Switzerland)

Davide Ruffoni (left) with Professor Roland Baron - ECTS President

Project
Title:	In vivo three-dimensional monitoring of implant osseointegration and anchorage in healthy and osteoporotic bone
Abstract of research:	Osteoporosis, a common skeletal disease in aged people, is characterized by a reduction in bone strength followed by an increased probability of having fractures. Successful therapeutic strategies for osteoporosis have been developed, however little is known on the influence of this disease on integration and anchorage of implants, which are required for fracture fixation. The proposed study will characterize various biological and biomechanical aspects of implant integration and anchorage at different hierarchical levels in a mouse model for osteoporotic bone. Implant osseointegration will be monitored using in vivo micro-computed tomography, the response at the cellular level will be investigated with histology and implant anchorage will be assessed with mechanical tests. An improvement in the understanding of these mechanisms could lead to novel strategies in the management of osteoporotic fractures.

Previous award winners

2009 ECTS Postdoctoral Fellowship - Mattia Capulli

PRELP is a heparin-binding anchor protein, whose 24-mer N-terminal heparin binding domain hbdPRELP was effective in preventing osteoclast formation and bone resorption, with no impairment of osteoblast activity. This peptide is internalized by osteoclast precursors through an annexin II- and chondroitin sulphate-dependent mechanism, it translocates to the nucleus where it binds NF-kB and prevents transcription of osteoclast-specific genes. We hypothesize that this peptide could effectively prevent bone loss induced by estrogen withdrawal. To verify this hypothesis we designed a pre-clinical study which will make use of a specific animal models: the ovariectomized ovx mice. Preliminary in vivo experiments showed hbdPRELP ability to reduce osteoclast number and activity in ovx mice thus supporting our hypothesis and providing a strong basis for the positive outcome of the proposed study. Moreover, given that the peptide is naturally expressed in the body, no immunological response is expected, further supporting the feasibility of the treatment.

2009 ECTS Postdoctoral Fellowship - Alfredo Cappariello

Osteopetrosis is a rare genetic disease characterised by defective osteoclasts. The Autosomal Recessive Osteopetrosis ARO presents with severe symptoms and is fatal in childhood. ARO is currently treated with Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation HSCT. However, there is a form, due to the mutation of the cytokine RANKL indispensible for osteoclast generation, which cannot benefit from HSCT. Since osteoblasts are known to produce RANKL, I designed a pre-clinical study aimed at implanting in an animal model of RANKL-deficient ARO, diffusion chambers containing RANKL-producing cells, which may be cultured on carriers coated with enzymes to induce release of the soluble form of the cytokine in the bloodstream. The study will first optimise sRANKL release in vitro, then the best working protocol will be transferred in vivo. I expect to provide evidence of the first therapeutic approach to treat an otherwise incurable form of osteopetrosis

2008 ECTS Postdoctoral Fellowship- Aline Bozec

Millions of people each year are affected by bone-related diseases such as osteoporosis. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying bone metabolism is essential for developing novel drugs for treating such diseases. The activator protein-1 AP-1 transcription factor is a central regulator of bone homeostasis. Genetically modified mice and cells have provided important insights into the biological functions of AP-1 in skeletal development. Recent data suggest that the Fos-related AP-1 protein Fra-2 can affect all bone cell lineages, the chondrocytes, osteoblasts and osteoclasts. I plan to investigate the relationship between Fra-2 and growth factor signalling in bone cells and its relation to bone disease. Moreover, I will use genetically modified embryonic stem ES cells to establish an in vitro model system that could represent a powerful source for differentiated bone cells for cell replacement therapy. These findings will lead to a better understanding of treating diseases affecting the skeleton.

2008 ECTS Postdoctoral Fellowship – Marco Eijken

Calcification of bone is a vital process that ensures good quality and bone strength. However, tissue calcification is also observed at places were it is unwanted such as the vessel wall in case of atherosclerosis. Although calcification is vital process in bone and a major cause of mortality in vascular disease, the mechanism of tissue calcification is yet poorly understood. In order to be able to specifically enhance calcification in bone or specifically prevent calcification of the vessel wall more knowledge about tissue calcification is required. In our study we will compare the process of calcification of the vessel wall to the process of calcification in bone at the molecular level. Moreover, we will investigate if compounds, such as activins, that have been shown to be potent regulators of calcification can be used.

2008 ECTS Postdoctoral Fellowship – Barbara Peruzzi

In inflammation-mediated bone diseases, involvement of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 occurs in most cases. While IL-6-dependent effect on osteoclasts has been well characterized, regarding osteoblasts, IL-6 is described to decrease cell function. In order to define the mechanisms underlying this regulation, our previous studies described an interplay between IL-6 and the tyrosine-kinase c-Src, by which osteoblasts are maintained in a less differentiated status. In order to further investigate how these molecules regulate each other, in this study we hypothesise the involvement of the IGF-1/IGFBPs axis in the c-Src/IL-6-mediated osteoblast regulation. IGF-1 action on osteoblasts depends on the activity of the IGFBPs, therefore, we hypothesise that IL-6 and c-Src could modulate IGFBPs activity rather than IGF-1 itself. We expect to demonstrate that the IGF-1/IGFBP axis represents not only an important regulator of osteoblast physiology and pathology, but also a new determinant for chronic inflammation-mediated bone diseases.

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