Why choose us?
In collaboration with the Glenn Biggs Institute at the University of Texas at San Antonio (USA), and the University of Tartu (Estonia), the 6th edition of this interdisciplinary program will be organized within the framework of the CHARGE Consortium and the ENLIGHT European University alliance*.
In alignment with ENLIGHT’s mission to disseminate knowledge by means of research- and challenge-based learning and teaching, the Neurepiomics summer school addresses major societal challenges of health and well-being. Taught by world-class experts in the field, this course will teach participants about the latest scientific progress regarding the use of cutting-edge data science approaches and innovative biotechnologies to decipher the mechanisms of the most common neurological causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and provide insight into applications for prevention and treatment, in order to promote healthier brain aging.
A hub for neuroepidemiology
Epidemiology and neurological diseases have long been a focal point in terms of training and research for the University of Bordeaux.
Brain health and data science are among the leading research focuses of the Bordeaux Population Health (BPH) research center, co-hosted by the University of Bordeaux and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), with ~500 staff members and 15 research teams. The “Vascular and neurological diseases: integrative and genetic epidemiology – VINTAGE” research team, in charge of the organization of Neurepiomics, explores the determinants of common, age-related vascular and neurological diseases, especially stroke and dementia, and also more recently venous thrombosis.
By leveraging extensive data from complementary population- and clinic-based cohort studies, the VINTAGE team focuses on imaging markers of brain aging, large-scale genomic studies, statistical modeling of cognitive decline and dementia risk, with a current development towards integrating additional biomarker and “omics” modalities.
Bordeaux Population Health is closely connected with the ISPED teaching institute of Public Health, with a large proportion of shared staff between both entities.
In recent years, the University of Bordeaux has launched a graduate research program in Digital Public Health, with solid links between Master and doctoral degrees and professional integration, thus creating an ideal environment for training and research that will be able to meet the societal challenges of the future.
CHARGE Consortium
The Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium brings together (since 2007!) multiple large and well-phenotyped longitudinal cohort studies, initially to facilitate genome-wide association study meta-analyses, with extension over the years to collaboration on other cutting-edge approaches in molecular epidemiology.
The founding cohorts were the AGES, ARIC, CHS, FHS, and Rotterdam studies. Numerous additional cohorts from across the world have joined leading to an extensive and rapidly growing collection of genomic and cutting-edge data as well as repeated measures of risk factors, subclinical disease indicators, and neurological and cardiovascular events on over several hundreds of thousands of research participants from multiple ancestries.
The consortium is established under working groups, representing an innovative model of collaborative multidisciplinary research conducted by research teams. The neurology working group has been led by Prof. Sudha Seshadri since inception. Leveraging the dense genotyping, sequencing, and molecular characterization, as well as deep phenotyping, and the diverse expertise of working group members, numerous prospective meta-analyses have been published in high impact journals and many more are underway to identify and replicate the major molecular determinants of vascular and brain aging, with a strong focus on cutting-edge brain imaging endophenotypes, in addition to clinical events and cognitive measures.
*ENLIGHT European University
Founded in 2019 and selected in July 2020 under the Erasmus+ call for European Universities Initiatives, ENLIGHT brings together nine universities from the four corners of Europe, thus truly embodying the geographical, cultural and linguistic diversity of the European continent. The partner universities draw upon this broad range of experience, the true strength of the network, as they pursue an ambitious strategy for institutional transformation towards a European University System, encompassing the educational, research & innovation, and administrative dimensions of participating institutions. This strategy defines and addresses in priority five main flagship challenges which are key determinants of societal well-being and sustainability: health and well-being, climate action, digital innovation, equity, energy transition and circularity.
As the project is deployed, the ENLIGHT universities are working closely with their academics, researchers, students, citizens, businesses and cities, favoring an open approach, without barriers or borders, for learning, teaching, research, and innovation. The aim is to provide students with the opportunity to refine their knowledge through advanced research and, thanks to flexible international study opportunities, to encourage them to look beyond the boundaries of their own discipline, to think innovatively, to collaborate within multicultural environments and to broaden their horizons within and outside Europe. The ENLIGHT European University alliance is funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ program and the H2020 program (in preparation).
Partners:
› Comenius University Bratislava (Slovakia)
› Ghent University (Belgium) – co-coordinator
› National University Ireland Galway (Ireland)
› University of Bordeaux (France) – co-coordinator
› University of Gottingen (Germany)
› University of Groningen (The Netherlands)
› University of Tartu (Estonia)
› University of the Basque Country (Spain)
› Uppsala University (Sweden)
ENLIGHT: European university Network to promote equitable quality of Life, sustainability and Global engagement through Higher education Transformation