Prof Ines Thiele, FNR ATTRACT Fellow and researcher at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) at the University of Luxembourg, has secured a prestigious ERC Starting Grant in the sum of 1.6 MEUR for her project ‘Bug the Drug’.
About the project
The aim of the project is to develop novel computer models that will assist in the personalisation of drugs used in cancer therapy or for treating Parkinson’s disease, so that the best drug for each individual patient can be prescribed. The basis for the models will be data on the patients’ dietary habits and the composition of their bacterial gut flora. This should help to reduce side effects and intolerances. The project will receive 1.6 MEUR over a period of five years.
Read more about aims of the ERC project (University of Luxembourg website)
International recognition
„This ERC grant is international recognition of the excellence and research quality achieved in our country and it gives additional credibility to the FNR’s strategy that aims to attract the best researchers to Luxembourg in key research areas thanks to its programmes FNR PEARL and FNR ATTRACT.“ – Marc Schiltz, FNR Secretary General
And Ines Thiele adds:
“I am very grateful for the excellent support from the ATTRACT fellowship programme by the FNR, as well as the supportive environment by the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine. Their continuous support permitted to build an internationally competitive research programme.” – Prof Ines Thiele
“For one thing, Ines Thiele’s ERC Starting Grant shows that, with her, we have a truly outstanding scientist at LCSB who has immense competence in the field of modelling biological systems. For another, it is an endorsement of our strategy to analyse such systems not only in the lab but also with the help of computer models. This dual approach carries us most effectively forward on the path towards better understanding widespread diseases like cancer or neurodegeneration and treating them more effectively.” – Prof Dr Rudi Balling, Director of LCSB
About Ines Thiele
Dr Ines Thiele joined the University of Luxembourg as Associate Professor in April 2013. She did her PhD in bioinformatics at the University of California San Diego in 2009, followed by an Assistant and Associate Professorship at the University of Reykjavik, Iceland, before joining the University of Luxembourg’s Center for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) in 2013 with an FNR ATTRACT grant. She currently heads up the LCSB group ‘Molecular Systems Physiology’.
More information
- View the full list of ERC Starting grantees from this round
- Find out more about the FNR’s ATTRACT programme
