AMSTERDAM–(Business Wire)–
ERA-Net NEURON, an initiative of the European Commission aimed at advancing
transnational European research in the field of disease-related neuroscience,
announced today the winners of the Excellent Paper in Neuroscience award for
young scientists for the year 2009. The two winners, awarded each a prize of
€3,000, are Dr. Heidi O. Nousiainen from the National Institute for Health and
Welfare, Biomedicum, Finland and Dr. Asya Rolls from the Weizmann Institute of
Science, Israel. The award ceremony took place during the 7th Forum of European
Neuroscience Societies (FENS) yesterday in Amsterdam. Dr. Heidi Nousiainen was
invited to the Conference as the special ERA-Net NEURON Young Investigator
lecturer.
“The first Excellent Paper in Neuroscience Award is awarded to outstanding
scientific publications by young researchers in the field of disease related
neurosciences,” said Dr. Marlies Dorlöchter, coordinator of ERA-Net NEURON. “The
two winners, chosen out of seven candidates, have made significant contributions
towards our understanding of disease and injury of the nervous system as well as
the development of novel therapies. Their achievements emphasize the high
quality neuroscience research undertaken in Europe.”
About the Chosen Papers
Dr. Heidi O. Nousiainen received the award on her publication in Nature Genetics
(2008)1 describing and identifying the gene underlying two fatal nervous system
diseases (LCCS1 and LAAHD) that are characterized by marked atrophy of spinal
cord motoneurons and fetal immobility, and who are lethal already during fetal
development or shortly after birth. Dr. Nousiainen discovered that the disease
causing gene is GLE1 which encodes for a protein that has been shown to
participate in mRNA export from the nucleus as well translation of mRNA into
protein. This discovery adds a new and important member to the increasing number
of RNA processing molecules linked to neurodegenerative diseases. This study
provides significant new information about the molecular background of fetal
motoneuron disease, but at the same time also gives insight into the mechanisms
that are essential for the normal development as well as maturation and
functioning of motoneurons.
Dr. Asya Rolls received the award on her publication in PLoS Medicine (2008)2
for elucidating the role of scar tissue formation in spinal cord repair after
injury. It has been accepted for quite some time that lack of nerve regeneration
in the central nervous system is due to formation of a deleterious scar tissue.
Dr. Rolls addressed the question of why should the body invest so much energy in
scar formation after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) only to inhibit spinal
cord repair. She showed that initial formation of the scar, and in particular a
protein called CSPG, is part of an `SOS` response crucial for recovery. In fact,
inhibiting the formation of CSPG at the early stages of spinal cord injury
actually harms the recovery process. On the other hand, CSPG inhibition during
the later subacute phase, improves functional recovery and can benefit
regeneration. This study thus identified an endogenous repair mechanism of the
body and may have considerable implications for the treatment of SCI.
About ERA-Net NEURON
ERA-Net NEURON, an initiative funded by the European Commission, has been set up
to establish sustained co-operation between national funding bodies and to
coordinate their research programs on disease-related neuroscience. Coordinated
by Dr. Marlies Dorlöchter from Germany, the participating ERA-Net NEURON partner
countries and funding institutions include: Austria, The Austrian Science Fund
(FWF); Canada, The funding agency for health research in Québec (FRSQ); Finland,
Academy of Finland (AKA); France, The National Agency for Research (ANR), the
French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the National Institute
for Health and Medical Research (INSERM); Germany, Project Management Agency in
the German Aerospace Centre (PT-DLR) for the Federal Ministry of Education and
Research (BMBF); Israel, The Chief Scientist Office, Ministry of Health
(CSO-MOH); Italy, Ministry of Health (MOH); Luxemburg, National Research Fund
(FNR); Poland – National Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR); Romania,
Ministry of Education and Research (ANCS-MEdR) and National Centre for
Programmes Management (CNMP); Spain – Ministry of Education and Science (MICINN)
and Fund for Health Research (ISCIII-FIS); Sweden, Swedish Research Council
(SRC); and United Kingdom, Medical Research Council. For further information,
please visit www.neuron-eranet.org.
1 Heidi O Nousiainen H.O., Marjo Kestilä M., Pakkasjärvi N., Honkala H., Kuure
S., Tallila J., Vuopala K., Ignatius J., Herva R. and Peltonen L. (2008).
Mutations in mRNA export mediator GLE1 result in a fetal motoneuron disease.
Nature Genetics, 2:155-7
2 Rolls A., Shechter R., London A., Segev Y., Jacob-Hirsch J., N., Rechavi G.,
Schwartz M. (2008). Two Faces of Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan in Spinal Cord
Repair: A Role in Microglia/Macrophage Activation. PLoS Medicine, 5:1262-1277
ERA-Net NEURON
Tsipi Haitovsky, Media Liaison
+972-52-598-9892
tsipih@netvision.co.il
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