There are 7 work packages (WP) in CHANGE.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease worldwide and a frequent cause of physical disability among older adults. In WP1, the ESRs study the OA disease progression by dissecting the OA phenotype in a mouse model of human chondrodysplasia, generate a surgically induced osteoarthritis murine model and develop an ex vivo model of osteo-chondro ageing More..
The skeleton is a highly complex tissue, continuously remodelled by coordinated activities of bone-forming osteoblasts and bone-resorbing osteoclasts. A relative increase in bone resorption, associated with impaired bone forming activity, results in osteoporosis (OPO), one of the most prevalent disorders in the aged population . In WP2 the ERSs study the age-associated bone pathologies in two disorders with early onset OPO. More..
The loss of skeletal muscle mass, known as sarcopenia, significantly affects the quality of life during ageing. Vascular mural cell defects play a key part in cerebral small vessel disease, which underlies 45% of vascular dementia cases, and brain bleeding. In WP3 the ESRs investigate animal and cell models of skeletal muscle and vascular diseases to discover disease mechanisms and understand vascular ageing. More..
Cellular senescence is a feature of ageing cells. WP4 investigates whether understanding senescence in connective tissues can lead to a treatment strategy for connective tissue disorders. Models in which senescence and/or cilia defects occur will be used to identify compounds that can target them. These will include novel compounds, established senolytics, and extracellular vesicles, amongst others. More..
Training activities, coordinated under WP5, include both local and network-wide events structured into teaching modules (lectures, workshops and seminars) in conjunction with individual research projects and secondments. Each ESR will undertake at least 3 mandatory secondments and participate in project-wide training streams focusing on scientific and nonscientific transferable skills. More..
Dissemination activities, coordinated by WP6, include the project’s success stories shared through social media “soundbites” and lay language newsletters The ESRs will also be encouraged to work closely with the local patient organisations and charities, and organisations worldwide to inform the patients and the scientific community about the achievements of the project. More..
WP7 ensures that the project progresses in compliance with the work plan and produces timely and quality results. This comprises all managerial and administrative tasks as well as the technical coordination, while also overseeing both the training and recruitment processes across all sites. WP7 will also manage knowledge and intellectual property assets as generated by the consortium. More..
