Project title: “Enhancing the regeneration of bone defects in elderly: Rejuvenation of bone microenvironment” (Horizon 2020)
Bone defects resulting from traumatic injuries, tumor resection and bone diseases represent one of the most pressing health problems in the aging European population.
Currently, treatment success in elderly patients is severely limited due to the declining functionality of bone cells during aging, which results from multiple cell-intrinsic and cell-extrinsic mechanisms. The aim of our project is to develop a new multidisciplinary approach to enhance the regeneration of bone defects in elderly, based on recent advances in cellular reprogramming and tissue engineering.
We are investigating extrinsic microenvironment components derived from young bone cells to enhance the function of aged or diseased bone cells from traumatology patients. Our aim is to develop novel, cell-free, off-the-shelf bone tissue substitutes with the capacity to improve bone healing.
In addition, our studies are providing new insights into bone regenerative mechanisms during aging and valuable human bone cell and bone tissue models applicable to basic biology studies and translational research.
Short title: “RejuvenateBone”
Funding Agency: European Comission Horizon 2020
Project type: Horizon 2020 MSCA Individual Fellowship
Project number: 657716
Project start: April 2015
Project duration: 24 months
Project status: Completed project