Multidisciplinary European Joint Doctorate in the Design and Development of Glyco Drugs (PhD4GlycoDrug)

The PhD4GlycoDrug consortium has a main goal to offer a European Joint Doctorate educational training network in Glyco-Drug Discovery and Development. The network combines 6 academic partners with long tradition in PhD training and accredited doctoral studies in Organic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Structural Biology and Pharmacology/Pharmacy. Non-academic partners, 5 SMEs and a research institute also constitute the consortium to offer intersectoral exposure and quality training in transferable skills to entrepreneurial ESRs. So far, only a handful of registered drugs originate from glycoscience area. To pursue an innovative research project in such a timely scientific field of great interest for pharmaceutical industry, a specific set of competences is needed. Our network will focus on delivering expert researchers highly attractive for employment by the European Pharma-industry. To achieve the above objectives the main tasks of PhD4GlycoDrug are: - to recruit and train 12 ESRs in a joint programme of cutting-edge training-by-research in glycoscience with high quality supervision, transferable skills training, and workshops/summer schools, - to start and pursue innovative research projects on specific macromolecular targets that bind and/or modify carbohydrate ligands involving all steps of early drug discovery from target identification and validation, through modern drug design and specific glyco-chemistry, to hit discovery and hit-to-lead development focusing on physico-chemical and ADMET properties, - to build a solid foundation for long-term European excellence in the glyco-drug discovery, - to create a common core standard for a glycodrug curriculum in the Institutions involved, which could potentially become the seed of a common European standard on the subject, and - to establish and foster long-term partnerships that will outlive the project to ensure continuance of the training and research.