About the Project
SAND was an Innovative Training Network (ITN) funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). The network consisted of 15 research groups from academia and industry across Europe, coordinated by the University of Oslo.
The primary goal of the project was to train a new generation of researchers and increase the understanding of proteostasis – the cell's ability to maintain a healthy balance of proteins. Failures in this system are a central cause of neurodegenerative diseases.
Research Objectives
The project focused on four main areas to advance research in the field:
- Mechanistic Understanding: Mapping the fundamental mechanisms in the crosstalk between autophagy (cellular self-cleaning) and secretion.
- Disease Modeling: Utilizing advanced cell cultures and animal models to understand why neurons die in diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s.
- Diagnostics and Tools: Developing new methods to identify disease markers and test potential drug candidates.
- Training: Providing 15 PhD fellows with interdisciplinary training and skills for careers in both academia and industry.
Partners and Institutions
The project was led by Professor Anne Simonsen at the University of Oslo, in collaboration with leading institutions across Europe:
- Innsbruck Medical University, Austria
- Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Germany
- Utrecht University, Netherlands
- University of Milan, Italy
- Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
- University of Bern, Switzerland
- Leibniz Institute on Ageing (FLI), Germany
- CellStressDiscoveries (NUI Galway), Ireland
- EPFL, Switzerland
- University of Cambridge, UK
- University of Edinburgh, UK
- PreDiagnostics, Norway
PhD Fellows (Early Stage Researchers)
The following researchers completed their doctoral studies as part of the SAND network:
- Chris Dunworth (Innsbruck Medical University)
- Chiara Veroni (University of Oslo)
- Debjani Bhattacharya (LMU Munich)
- Mai Dan (Utrecht University)
- Paulien Smeele (University of Milan)
- Johanna Mayer (Karolinska Institutet)
- Shenyi Jiang (LMU München)
- Rim Diab (University of Bern)
- Francesca Bruno (FLI Jena)
- Enzo Sébastien Benjamin Moro (EPFL Lausanne)
- Matea Rob (University of Cambridge)
- Andrea Salzinger (University of Edinburgh)
Key Publications
Selected research results from the SAND project:
- Cujic, I., & Simonsen, A. (2024). The role of autophagy in Alzheimer’s disease: From mechanisms to therapeutic potential. Karolinska Institutet Open Archive.
- Moro, E. S. B., & Lashuel, H. (2023). Spatial proteomics reveals secretory pathway disturbances caused by neuropathy-associated TECPR2. PMC PubMed Central.
- Smeele, P., & Vaccari, T. (2024). Integrated stress response regulates ER exit sites via SNRPB-dependent RNA splicing. National Institute of Health (NIH).
Funding
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 860035.