ERC Advanced Grant: Roslyn Bill’s €2.2M award to explore early interventions to prevent dementia onset

FORTIFY project

Professor Bill will lead the FORTIFY project over five years, using her discovery of the movement of aquaporin-4 to understand how the cleaning mechanism in the brain works during sleep. The glymphatic system is a mechanism that allows the clearance of waste products from the brain while sleeping, and her research will focus on how aquaporin-4 controls this system.

Early intervention treatment

As people age, the effectiveness of this cleaning mechanism lessens, and Professor Bill’s hypothesis is that the movement of aquaporin-4 in the brain changes the cleansing mechanism’s effectiveness. Understanding this process could lead to an early intervention treatment that could slow the onset of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

About ERC Advanced Grant

The ERC Advanced Grant is one of the most prestigious and competitive of the EU funding schemes. It provides researchers with the opportunity to pursue ambitious, curiosity-driven projects that could lead to major scientific breakthroughs.

Professor Bill: “Every three seconds someone in the world develops dementia, and there is no cure. I want to stop that from happening.”

By understanding the molecular mechanisms of brain waste clearance, she believes there is an opportunity to develop medicines that can slow the onset of dementia, just as statins are prescribed to control heart disease.

Start clinical trials summer 2023

Professor Bill discovered that the water channel protein aquaporin-4 increases the permeability of brain cells to water after a brain or spinal cord injury. Doctors have been able to manage the symptoms of brain injury by intervening in ways that may require surgery. However, Professor Bill and her team are set to start clinical trials in summer 2023 to test a method to stop swelling from happening in its tracks, building on her discoveries.

Applying to ERC Advanced Grant

ERC Advanced Grant funding is amongst the most prestigious and competitive of the EU funding schemes, providing researchers with the opportunity to pursue ambitious, curiosity-driven projects that could lead to major scientific breakthroughs. Roslyn points out the value of having support from PNO*.

They were really helpful with, the formalization and structuring of the proposal and was critical about the concept. They challenged my ideas and offered a different perspective, when needed.

How can PNO help you with your ERC application?

PNO Life Sciences & Health has a strong track record of successfully developing ERC projects. To help with ERC applications, PNO begins by analyzing the applicant’s CV to determine the likelihood of success. If the applicant decides to proceed, PNO uses its FFWD method to co-create the research framework, define the core research questions, and support the entire writing process. PNO draws on its extensive experience with ERC applications to refine the applicant’s personal vision, clarify the project’s broader scientific impact, and define the proposed scientific novelty in comparison to current research. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us by filling out the form below.

The team of PNO Life Sciences & Health is proud to have supported Roslyn towards her successful application to the ERC Advanced Grant.

Read more about Roslyn’s research

* Formerly known as ttopstart, a separate Life Sciences & Health consultancy. The company has since fully integrated into PNO Innovation and no longer operates under the ttopstart name. For more information, see the press release “We continue as PNO Innovation.”