ImmunoGrid

The immune system is a complex and adaptive learning system which has evolved to defend the individual. It has multiple levels (molecular, cellular, organ and tissue, organism, and organism-toorganism) and is also combinatorial in nature with a large number of products.

Immune intervention, such as vaccination, is the most effective method for the control of disease and the greatest achievements include eradication of smallpox, near-elimination of polio, and savings of some 170 million person-years. Vaccination has been used in the control of over two dozen diseases by the 50 or so successful vaccines which have been developed to date.

Large-scale studies of the immune system, also known as immunomics, is the key factor driving the current wave in vaccine development. The main objectives of ImmunoGrid are to:

• Create computational models for the real-size human immune system (the Virtual Human Immune System Simulator).
• Standardize immune system concepts, bioinformatics tools and information resources to enhance the computational models for preclinical and clinical applications.
• Validate these models with experimental data and disseminate the tools developed to users such as vaccine and immunotherapy researchers and developers.

For further information, please visit:

• http://www.immunogrid.org
• http://www.immunogrid.eu

Project co-ordinator:
The Interuniversity Consortium of Northeastern Italy for Automated Computing (CINECA) (IT)

Partners:

• National Council of Research - CNR (IT),
• National Council of Scientific Research - CNRS (FR),
• University of Queensland (AU),
• Technical University of Denmark (DK),
• Birkbeck College, Univ. of London (UK),
• University of Bologna (IT),
• University of Catania (IT)

Timetable: from 02/06 – to 01/09

Total cost: € 2.622.274

EC funding: € 1,951,042

Instrument: STREP

Project Identifier: IST-2004-028069

Source: FP6 eHealth Portfolio of Projects