The RISE-WELL project will help train the next generation of researchers that will aim to improve the quality of life for the ageing population
As well as Northumbria being involved with the project, Newcastle University has also been chosen to train the next generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative early-stage researchers in the area of ageing in relation to quality of life and longevity.
The European-wide project involves seven partners and brings together the work of Dr Annette Pantall from the Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Dr Kianoush Nazarpour from the School of Engineering at Newcastle University and Professor Dilek Onkal and Dr Valerie Egdell from the Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University. As the North East of England cohort, they have received funding for three PhD studentship programmes.
Professor Onkal emphasised the importance of the grant for Northumbria University in terms of the social impact the study will have, explaining: “This research will provide us with invaluable insights on supporting and enhancing mental well-being in later life”.
The study will be overseen by Dr Alan Chan, an alumnus of Newcastle University, but now based in Leiden, The Netherlands. The research will also bring in Professor Eline Slagboom from Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), who is head of Molecular Epidemiology within the Department of Biomedical Data Sciences at LUMC. She previously collaborated with the Newcastle group as part of the Leiden Longevity Study.
Other consortium members besides LUMC and the North East of England team are TECO Biosciences, Percuros B.V., Innoso B.V. and the Technical University of Zvolen. The coordination is through LUMC and headed up by Professor Mark van Buchem from the Department of Radiology of LUMC.
Pantall said: “We are delighted to be part of this study where we want to focus our work on the mobility changes of the ageing process.”
Funding for the project is from the H2020 Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions Innovative Training Networks (ITN) program.
