Project Objectives

Project Objective 1

Build an ERA Team of research excellence in BSRC Fleming

Recruit a top-notch research Team to transfer bespoke knowledge and expertise of state-of-the-art MS technologies to BSRC Fleming that will support ongoing projects and open new research directions. Build a research team by attracting international talents. This will offer a template to drive organisational changes in BSRC Fleming in research management (e.g. culture; academic environment) and excellence (e.g. international talents; gender equality).

Project Objective 2

Establish the first biomolecular mass spectrometry Research Unit in Greece

MASSTRUCT will utilise emerging technologies, such as hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) and native MS. It will establish a hub of excellence in Greece with new opportunities for societal and research growth at local and regional levels. The building of a leading group in biomolecular MS in Greece will be accompanied with a significant investment in renovating wet lab spaces, providing access to research facilities, and purchasing a state-of-the-art mass spectrometer (Bruker mass spectrometer with HDX capabilities). This new biomolecular and structural MS Unit will enable new research management and administrative unit by exploiting its own operational space in biomolecular MS

Project Objective 3

Develop and maintain an ambitious, world class research agenda

Proof-of-concept projects will not only make inroads into key research directions but will also allow for sustaining excellence and capacity in BioMS Unit. The projects will be aligned to the following EU missions and actions:

EU mission: “Cancer” and EU Action: “Alzheimer Europe”: Investigating disease-prone proteins (e.g. membrane proteins, e.g. solute carriers, GPCRs, chaperone proteins), can have a transformative effect on hard-to-treat diseases, including multi-drug resistant pathogens, Alzheimer’s and cancers. We will combine analytical and biophysical tools to study the structure and dynamics of biomolecules ranging from small drugs to large complexes.

“European fit for the Digital Age”: Integration of newly established and emerging experimental techniques with novel data analysis resources and tools, could have a transformative effect in healthcare technologies and building science powerhouses that are fit to current societal challenges. This ERA Chair will bring together novel mass spectrometry tools with state-of-the-art data analysis and related computational strategies for monitoring key protein behaviour and relevant interactions in time and space with direct implications in human health and disease. Key research themes include but are not limited to:

Use solute carriers and G Protein-Coupled receptors (GPCRs) as models for biotechnological/ pharmacological applications (e.g. cell growth, secretion of enzymes, signaling) and diseases (e.g. cancer, and Alzheimer’s.
Interrogate protein dynamics in native-like environments (i.e. nanodiscs, lipid vesicles, liposomes, in vivo).
Dissect membrane protein dynamics in engineered E. coli strains and in pharmacologically important GPCRs.
Integrate other structural tools with MS approaches to interrogate protein targets in BSRC Fleming

Project Objective 4

Foster collaborative networks with academia and industry

Implementing a dissemination, exploitation, and communication (DEC) strategy, will allow for scientific excellence, collaboration, and equality. This will enhance the scientific, political, and societal influence of BSRC Fleming and Greece. Two key areas can present opportunities for leading engagement with industry:

translation of outcomes to equipment manufacturers,
application of the new methods to the pharmaceutical industry.

The Team has active collaborations with global companies such as Waters Corp., Thermo Scientific, OMass Therapeutics, Trajan Scientific and local ones in Greece, namely ResQ (resqbiotech.com). We aim to establish partnerships with these companies via applying for research & infrastructure grants, and carry out specific activities (e.g. seminars, demonstration). We expect that advancements in rapid analysis of membrane proteins will lead to commercialization opportunities that we will explore in collaboration with our partners.

Project Objective 5

Build BSRC Fleming’s excellence and sustainability in Greece and the wider region

We will build and sustain a BioMS Unit and research Center. Beyond this ERA Chair, we expect that long term sustainability will be achieved via excellence in science and services as well as establishing, beyond this project, a Centre for Collaborative research in MS via merging expertise with the existing excellent Bioanalytical Facility. MASSTRUCT is committed to: i) Sustain BioMS Unit, upgrade into facility; training; engage with industrial/pharmaceutical sector, and ii) Consider equality, diversity and inclusivity (EDI) in training, knowledge transfer and implementation

Project Objective 6

Build a network of ERA Chairs in biomolecular and protein research in Greece

This aims to maximise the footprint and output of ERA Chairs in molecular, and structural biology in Greece. This ERA will provide the connecting link between the existing network of ERA Chairs in Greece via a number of key objectives:

Organise workshops, meetings and discussion forums between ERA Chair Teams where participating researchers can communicate their research, and further share infrastructure, knowledge and facilities.
Organise bi-annual symposia/meetings that will bring together speakers from Greek ERA Chairs and other leading researchers in the field of molecular, structural and cellular biology from Greece and abroad,
Establish a discussion forum to facilitate connection (e.g. mobility, strategy) between ERA Chairs in Greece