NanoMop

A project funded by the European Commission through the Marie Sklodowska Curie Action - Individual Fellowship

From April 2018 to March 2020 I was awarded a Marie Sklodowska Curie Action – Individual Fellowship (MSCA-IF) at the Chemistry Department of Istanbul Technical University (ITU) in Prof Dr Yusuf Yagci's lab

The project focused on a novel class of smart polymer nanoparticles (NanoMops) based on cyclodextrin-containing polymers to be used to contrast the effect of the rare genetic disorder Niemann-Pick Disease Type C (NPC).

NPC, also known as “childhood Alzheimer’s” is a devastating genetic disorder caused by the accumulation of cholesterol particularly in the brain with an incidence in the EU of 1 per 100,000 people.

Title: Smart Cholesterol-Mopping Polymer Nanoparticles in Niemann-Pick Disease Type C

Project number: 786560

Acronym: NanoMop
ACTION: MSCA-IF-2017 — Individual Fellowships (Standard European Fellowships)

Grant amount: 145,845.60 EUR
Duration of the action: 24 months

Some facts and figures about the project

The players

I have put together a great team around this project to maximise outcome and societal impact

Prof Yusuf yagci - ITU - Istanbul, Turkey (supervisor)

Internationally recognised expert in the field of polymer chemistry

Prof Frances Platt - Oxford University (secondment)

Prof Platt has tons of experience in studying NPC disease in vitro

Cyclolab - Hungary (secondment)

World-leading R&D cyclodextrin company

Prof Suna Timur - Ege University - Izmir, Turkey

For biological assays of the NanoMop

International Niemann–Pick Disease Alliance (INPDA)

A fantastic international charity raising awareness on NPC

see INPDA letter of support for the project

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 786560