1.5 million Euro to Dr. Jerome Mertens and his team
The European Research Council (ERC) supports outstanding scientists in their research by awarding the ERC Starting Grants. Dr. Jerome Mertens and his team have been provided with 1.5 million Euro for further research. This is the ninth Grant of the ERC, which goes to scientists of the University of Innsbruck.
Dr. Jerome Mertens, head of the Neural Aging Laboratory at the University of Innsbruck, is researching age-related mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease. "For the development of such diseases, the biological aging process of our brain cells is of central importance," emphasizes Jerome Mertens. Unfortunately, there is a lack of data, which explains why only old brains suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Jerome Mertens explains that the studies on animal models cannot be clearly transferred to humans.
The Team of Jerome Mertens has therefore developed an innovative method that does not require stem cell reprogramming. It converts skin cells of patients into nerve cells and thus produces "old" nerve cells. In the research project of Jerome Mertens, such old nerve cells are produced by patients with Alzheimer's disease, control subjects as well as patients in the early stages. This method is expected to provide new insights into Alzheimer's disease and to develop new treatments and treatments for age-related diseases.
The Life & Health Science Cluster Tyrol supports Jerome Mertens and his team in networking with other scientists.
Read the original article on the website of the university of Innsbruck.