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Friday, 27 Oct, 2023
Bats as the key to extended health and disease resistances
26 October 2023 - The European Research Council (ERC) today announced the winners of the Synergy Grants 2023 call to tackle complex scientific questions. Among the 37 projects selected for funding is BATPROTECT: Learning from Bats: New strategies to extend healthspan and improve disease resistance.
The challenges posed by ageing and infectious diseases in our societies come with significant medical, financial, and emotional burdens. While previous research has struggled to offer solutions to increase human health span (how long we stay healthy) and protect against the harmful effects of infections, bats - the only flying mammals - have naturally addressed both of these problems.
Bats stand out among mammals for their exceptional longevity and minimal age-related health issues. Even though they serve as hosts for numerous dangerous viruses, bats usually don't show symptoms of viral infections thanks to their unique immune system adaptations.
The main objective of BATPROTECT is to make significant advancements in our understanding of the specific genetic and biochemical factors within bats that are responsible for their ability to live longer, healthier lives and resist diseases. Uncovering these molecular mechanisms could open up new possibilities for improving human health and disease outcomes.
The project brings together a team of world-leading experts in bat biology, genomics, immunology, and gerontology. Together, they will delve into the molecular mechanisms behind bats’ abilities to slow down ageing processes and their remarkable resistance to viruses and age-related inflammation. Furthermore, the team will explore the genetic basis and evolutionary history behind bats' extended health span and disease resistance and create genetically modified animal models to experimentally confirm the unique adaptations found in bats. Ultimately, this research will deepen our knowledge of how bats manage to stay healthy and resist diseases, potentially paving the way for future therapeutics.
Bat biologist and Professor of Zoology Emma Teeling conducts her research at the University College Dublin, Ireland. Specialised in zoonotic diseases and bat immunology, Linfa Wang is a Professor in the Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore. Michael Hiller, Professor of Comparative Genomics, is based at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt. Also based in Germany, Professor Björn Schumacher is the Director of the Institute for Genome Stability in Ageing and Disease at the University Hospital of Cologne.
ERC President Professor Maria Leptin said: “Congratulations to all the winners! The selected projects are shining examples of audacious scientific thinking, and I eagerly await the outcomes of these collaborative endeavours. I am also happy to see some European researchers teaming up with peers across several continents. Together, they are well-equipped to tackle the substantial scientific questions that our world is yearning to find answers to."
The ERC Synergy Grant scheme is part of the EU's research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe. Applicants submitted 395 proposals in this call. The 37 winning projects involve 135 researchers who will carry out their projects at 114 universities and research centres in 19 countries across Europe and beyond.