Thematic Research NetworkMINDS – Molecular Mechanisms in Health and Disease
Summary
'Omics’ technologies have yielded a molecular inventory of life as well as lists of alterations, such as mutations, associated with human pathologies. However, there is gap in translating these mostly correlative findings into a mechanistic understanding of how genetic and epigenetic alterations cause disease development, phenotype and clinical implications. To complement and fully leverage the potential of worldwide and local multiomics efforts, the TRN ‘Molecular Mechanisms in Health and Disease – from understanding to engineering’ (MINDS), aims at building a campus-wide network for fundamental research into the molecular processes that underlie human diseases.
The TRN focuses on the mechanistic understanding of key molecular processes relevant to human pathologies rather than singling out one particular disease. MINDS has two main goals
- to create a bottom-up, campus-wide networking platform for researchers who investigate processes and molecular mechanisms with high relevance for human diseases and
- to stimulate new collaborations and identify emerging research areas.
To this end, MINDS establishes a strategically structured set of networking activities to foster scientific exchange that builds on local expertise and strengths, to spark new interdisciplinary collaborations, and to identify emerging research areas with relevance to health and disease.
The activities are organized in three highly interconnected areas:
(A) mechanistic research,
(B) emerging technologies, and
(C) molecular engineering approaches.