Turkish team joins EU project on early detection of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s
KAYSERİ
Turkish researchers are taking part in a major European Union-funded initiative aimed at identifying early-stage cellular changes in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
The project, which includes Erciyes University in the central city of Kayseri, is one of 10 research consortia selected for funding under the Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND), an initiative established within the EU’s Horizon 2020 framework.
“Our aim is to detect cellular changes in the early stages of diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and collect comprehensive data to help predict how these diseases will progress,” explained Professor Dr. Gökmen Zararsız, a faculty member at the university’s Biostatistics Department. “This will provide insights into disease progression and potential new treatment mechanisms through extensive genetic data.”
The data from patient tissues and cellular models collected by project partners in other countries will be transferred to the university’s servers for processing.
“At the university’s drug application and research center, we have a high-capacity server system,” he said. “Our research team will carry out all data analysis using this infrastructure. We will further improve our research capabilities by expanding this system, which will also benefit future projects.”
With a total budget of approximately 1.26 million euros ($1.42 million), the three-year project is coordinated by the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and also involves France’s Pasteur Institute and Imagine Institute, as well as Amsterdam University Medical Center in the Netherlands.
Alongside Zararsız, the project’s team includes Associate Professor Gözde Ertürk Zararsız, lecturer Ahu Cephe, as well as postdoctoral researchers and graduate students.
