Objective
The study of host-pathogen systems is of central importance to the control of infectious disease, but also provides unique opportunities to observe evolution in action. Many pathogen species have diversified under selection pressures from the host; conversely, genes that are important in host defence also exhibit high degrees of polymorphism. This proposal divides into two parts: (1) the evolution of pathogen diversity under host immune selection, and (2) the evolution of host diversity under pathogen selection. I have developed a body of theoretical work showing that discrete population structures can arise through immune selection rather than limitations on genetic exchange. The predictions of this framework concerning the structure and dynamics of antigenic, metabolic and virulence genes will be empirically tested using three different systems: the bacterial pathogen, Neisseira meningitidis, the influenza virus, and the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. The current theory will also be expanded and modified to address a number of outstanding questions such whether it can explain the occurrence of influenza pandemics. With regard to host diversity, we will be attempting to validate and extend a novel framework incoporating epistatic interactions between malaria-protective genetic disorders of haemoglobin to understand their intriguing geographical distribution and their mode of action against the malarial disease. We will also be exploring the potential of mechanisms that can organise pathogens into discrete strains to generate patterns among host genes responsible for pathogen recognition, such as the Major Histocompatibility Complex. The co-evolution of hosts and pathogens under immune selection thus forms the ultimate theme of this proposal.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases malaria
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health epidemiology pandemics
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases RNA viruses influenza
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2010-AdG_20100317
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.