The central challenge for the immune system is to efficiently recognize and neutralize foreign antigen while protecting self. If the latter fails, autoimmunity and/or autoinflammation may occur, as observed in many human diseases. Though several human genes involved in the process have been identified we still lack: i) a comprehensive appreciation of all contributing molecular pathways, ii) an understanding of the interplay and epistatic relationships among the various elements and iii) a satisfactory strategy to counteract dysregulation based on an understanding of the regulatory logic. I hypothesize that there is only a finite number of pathways involved and that it should be possible to mount a synergistic strategy to create a first chart of the entire “territory”. Key to this endeavor is the identification of sufficient elements by mapping immune dysregulation genes to “anchor” the chart onto signposts of which the human pathophysiological relevance is certain. From these signposts, contextualization and integration is achieved by interaction proteomics and network informatics mining the existing data universe, validated through biochemical and imaging tools to power an established set of immune assays. While it may be preposterous to claim feasibility with one ERC grant, I propose that once such a chart exists, even at initial low resolution, it can help reconcile disconnected observations and coalesce future work while being immensely improved in accuracy and mechanistic understanding by the entire community. iDysChart will work towards these goals by 1) identifying novel monogenic causes of autoimmune/autoinflammatory diseases, enabling elucidation of fundamental mechanisms, 2) creating a network-level understanding of molecular pathways of immune dysregulation and 3) employing chemical and genetic screens to complement human disease gene discovery in predicting the core human immune dysregulome and investigating potential avenues for therapeutic modulation.

As recognized by the Council Recommendation 2009/C 151/02, rare diseases (RD) are a prime example of a research area that can strongly profit from coordination on a European and international scale. RD research should be improved to overcome fragmentation, leading to efficacious use of data and resources, faster scientific progress and competitiveness, and most importantly to decrease unnecessary hardship and prolonged suffering of RD patients. In the specific context of the massive generation, need for reuse and efficient interpretation of data, introduction of omics into care practice and the structuration of RD care centers in European Reference Networks, it appears crucial and timely to maximize the potential of already funded tools and programmes by supporting them further, scaling up, linking, and most importantly, adapting them to the needs of end-users through implementation tests in real settings. Such a concerted effort is necessary to develop a sustainable ecosystem allowing a virtuous circle between RD care, research and medical innovation. To achieve this goal, the European Joint Programme on RD (EJP RD) has two major objectives: (i) To improve the integration, the efficacy, the production and the social impact of research on RD through the development, demonstration and promotion of Europe/world-wide sharing of research and clinical data, materials, processes, knowledge and know-how; (ii) To implement and further develop an efficient model of financial support for all types of research on RD (fundamental, clinical, epidemiological, social, economic, health service) coupled with accelerated exploitation of research results for benefit of patients. To this end, the EJP RD actions will be organized within four major Pillars assisted by the central coordination: (P1): Funding of research; (P2): Coordinated access to data and services; (P3) Capacity building; (P4): Accelerated translation of research projects and improvement outcomes of clinical studies.

Fundamental changes occurred in the study of nature between the late 15th and 18th centuries, leading to the emergence of modern science as we know it. This process would have been impossible without Latin as the scientific lingua franca of the era, just as today's science is hard to imagine without English. At present, this crucial role of Latin is insufficiently acknowledged, and the hundreds of thousands of scientific texts written in Latin have largely remained neglected. This severely limits the scope of research into the history of early modern science, an otherwise thriving field. The proposed project intends to decisively advance our understanding of the interrelation of Latin and science in early modern times. By applying the methods of Latin philology, yet at the same time reaching out to historians of science, it will establish early modern scientific literature in Latin as an interdisciplinary research field. This will be accomplished (a) by examining and classifying the formal variety and range of content of this literature to create an overall picture (b) by analysing its function as a medium of communication within and beyond the scientific community. To realise the first of these objectives, a tripartite database for authors, early modern texts, and secondary literature will be compiled and a sourcebook with a selection of digitally searchable texts put together, both of which will be made available online. A monograph will provide an overview structured according to the literary genres of early modern scientific literature in Latin. The second objective will be achieved through a series of interlinked monographs, whose analyses will build on the system of ancient rhetoric, the most important communicative paradigm of the early modern age. On this basis, four key functions of Latin scientific texts will be assessed: naming new phenomena; describing and explaining them; convincing others of the views expressed; and promoting science.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is the most frequent cancer of the blood system, with >80% mortality within 5 years of diagnosis. Straightforward clinical decisions are complicated by the genetic complexity of AML. In particular, fusion proteins arising from chromosomal aberrations are recurrently found in AML and often act as strong driver oncogenes. In “Multi-Partner Translocation” (MPT) families, one specific gene is fused to many recipient loci. Due to this modular architecture, MPT families are of particular interest to comparative studies of oncogenic mechanisms. The three most common MPT families in AML represent translocations of the MLL, RUNX1 and NUP98 genes. Despite their clinical significance, the molecular mechanism of transformation remains unknown for the majority of fusion proteins and it is unclear if transforming mechanisms are conserved within and across different MPT families. We hypothesize that common oncogenic mechanisms of fusion proteins are encoded in physical and genetic cellular interaction networks that are specific to MPT families. We propose to delineate critical common effectors of oncogenic mechanisms in AML driven by MPT families through a comprehensive, comparative, functional analysis of 20 clinically representative MLL-, RUNX1- and NUP98-fusion proteins using a unique experimental pipeline. Characterization of protein interactomes and their effects on gene expression will identify common cellular denominators of MPT families, whose functional contribution will be assessed through pooled shRNA screens in clinically relevant model systems. High-confidence hits will be validated in mouse models and primary cells from AML patients. This project will generate large informative datasets and novel experimental systems that are of relevance for basic and clinical cancer research. It will contribute to improved understanding of oncogenic mechanisms, which may directly impact on diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in the management of AML.