Scientists from the University of Glasgow are teaming up with colleagues from across Europe and Brazil in a €3m project to study inflammatory disease disorders.

The project at Glasgow is being coordinated by Professor Gerry Graham and will see nine research partners from four European countries and three research partners in Brazil work together to develop new and powerful strategies to fight inflammation.

Prof Graham will lead a group studying the roles of key molecules in inflammation with a view to developing them for therapeutic use.

Inflammation is a natural response of the body to infection but can also damage the body over time. The EU-funded project entitled Targeting Novel Mechanisms of Resolution in Inflammation (TIMER) is worth £350,000 to the University of Glasgow.

Prof Graham said: “This research programme covers a wide range of crucial aspects leading to resolution of inflammation; from discovery of novel natural compounds and basic research to clinical trials.

“The project will lead to improved collaboration with Brazilian scientists who have unique access to natural compounds known to modulate inflammation.  These molecules, and their mechanisms of action, will be studied by this consortium.  In addition the project will allow us to examine other important aspects of inflammation such as resolution, which goes wrong in many diseases such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. .”

Alberto Mantovani, coordinator of TIMER and director of the Istituto Clinico Humanitas which is based in Milan, said: “This is a unique opportunity for European scientists to strengthen ties with Brazilian colleagues addressing central issues related to inflammation, of broad potential in immune-based pathologies.

“The project will capitalize on productive interactions. The availability of natural resources, models of diseases, original paradigms and molecular approaches will be conducive to synergistic interactions.”

The full list of collaborators is: Fondazione Humanitas per la Ricerca, Italy; Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil; Universidade of Sao Paulo, Brazil; Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Brazil; Fondazione per l’Istituto di Ricerca in Biomedicina, Switzerland; University of Glasgow, United Kingdom; Telormedix SA, Switzerland; The Provost Fellows & Scholars of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, Ireland; Merck Serono SA, Switzerland; ALTA Ricerca e Sviluppo in Biotecnologie S.r.l.u., Italy.

The project is reinforced by the presence of a pharmaceutical company and an SME for promoting translational research.

For more information contact Stuart Forsyth in the University of Glasgow Media Relations Office on 0141 330 4831 or email stuart.forsyth@glasgow.ac.uk

First published: 30 January 2012

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