Press Releases
The Proteomics Facility of FORTH among the leading European Proteomics Research Groups
The Proteomics Facility (ProFI)at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of FORTH (IMBB-FORTH) participates in the European Proteomics Infrastructure Consortium (EPIC-XS), which was recently funded by the European Union with € 10 million in the framework of “Horizon 2020” Work Program, for a four-year period, starting on January 2019. It is worth notingthat FORTH is the only Research Center in Greece that participates in this project, among eighteen renownedresearch teams from all over Europe.EPIC-XS is co-ordinated by Dr. Albert Heck, Professor of Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics at the University of Utrecht. IMBB-FORTH is represented by Dr. John Strouboulis, Research Director, and Prof. Michalis Aivaliotis, Affiliated Researcher at IMBB-FORTH and Scientific Director of ProFI.
Proteins play a vital role in living organisms, they are the machines and workhorses of our body, triggering cells to perform different tasks and functions depending on the organ to which they belong - eye cells have different structure and function compared to those of the brain or the heart. Our body consists of about 100 trillion cells, each of which contains thousands of different proteins that change during the development of an organism, which explains e.g. fetal development and transformation of the caterpillar into a butterfly. These changes determine the health of the cells and thereby of the entire organism - it is exactly where scientists look for the key to personalized, accurate treatment of diseases, for the improvement of the quality of human life.
Proteomics, the large-scale study of proteins, is therefore of major importance, requires state-of-the-art technology and specialized know-how, with a multitude of complex data management. Researchers often depend on dedicated proteomics facilities to get access to the technology required. The role of the EPIC-XS consortium is to support the research community by providing access to proteomics facilities throughout Europe, expertise and training to new research teams, via the submission, evaluation and selection of research proposals that will leverage the technology offered by the Consortium.
ProFI was founded in March 2009 funded by the European Commission’s 7th Framework Program (FP7), the competitive research funding scheme Capacities. ProFI is equipped with state-of-the-art proteomics and bioinformatic analysis tools and works with highly trained and experienced staff as an excellent research and service unit within the IMBB.
More information on submitting proposals and other clarifications is available in the following website addresses:
https://www.imbb.forth.gr/proteomics
