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cessfully replicated an intronic SNP in GRM8 gene as- by other European institutions and thus, in Decem-
sociated to sporadic CJD risk. In collaboration with ber 2011 the COEN membership application by
our JPND partners (ISCIII Miguel Calero), we sequen- CIBERNED-CIEN Foundation was approved, recogni-
ced the exons of that gene in a large sample of Spa- zing the scientific excellence in both basic and clini-
nish cases. In parallel, we correlated genomic data cal science of the institution which became part of
with CSF markers in a sample of German patients the COEN Oversight Group. In 2012, CIEN Founda-
from the group of Dr Zerr. Results of these analyses tion and CIBERNED joined this Committee to partici-
were published during 2015. pate actively in the design of the future COEN
scientific strategy. Both institutions are represented
The other main results from this project were fruit of by Dr. Miguel Medina, member of the CIEN Founda-
direct collaborations with the coordinator of the tion Scientific Advisory Board and CIBERNED Deputy
consortium, Dr. Inga Zerr. We carried out studies eva- Scientific Director. During 2015 the French Agence
luating new biomarkers for rapidly progressive de- Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) has also been
mentia (desmoplakin) and analysis of clinical data acknowledged as a new COEN member.
to generate new diagnostic algorithms for other
prion disorders like fatal familial insomnia. Current COEN members are:
5.3. Network of Centers of Excellence in • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
Neurodegeneration (COEN) • Deutsche Zentrum für Neurodegenerative
An important hurdle for the advancement of rese- Erkrankungen (DZNE, Germany)
arch on neurodegenerative diseases is the relative • Medical Research Council (MRC, United
lack of common rules and mechanisms for valida-
tion of potentially relevant results in preclinical and Kingdom)
clinical studies as well as in population-based stu- • Flanders Institute of Biotechnology (VIB Flanders,
dies. One approach to addressing these challenges
on a large scale is through a more effective use of Belgium)
large research centers and institutes, where there is • Health Research Board (HRB) / Science
already the necessary critical mass of resources and
expertise. Increased collaboration between natio- Foundation Ireland (SFI), Ireland
nal centers of excellence must also provide the op- • Ministero della Salute (MDS, Italy)
portunity to accelerate progress in understanding • Centre of Excellence for Brain Research,
the basic mechanisms of the disease.
Slovakia
To this end, on June 10, 2010, the Canadian Institutes • CIBERNED-CIEN Foundation, Spain
of Health Research (CIHR), the German Centre for • Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR),
Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE, Germany) and
the Medical Research Council (MRC, UK) launched France
a funding initiative to establish a collaborative ap-
proach to research in neurodegenerative diseases, The overlapping of the COEN group members with
called "Centers of Excellence in Neurodegeneration those of the JPND will ensure that their complemen-
(COEN)". These founding members were later joined tary objectives progress in close cooperation with
each other. This is accomplished through a two-step
process, involving expert workshops for the analysis
of needs, followed by a call for proposals for colla-
borative teams between PIs within the participating
national Centers of Excellence.
Since 2012, CIBERNED and CIEN Foundation are part
of the Oversight Group to be actively involved in the
CIEN Foundation Annual Report 2015 / 90
