title: Ageing with elegans: a research proposal to map healthspan pathways.
abstract: Human longevity continues to increase world-wide, often accompanied by decreasing birth rates. As a larger fraction of the population thus gets older, the number of people suffering from disease or disability increases dramatically, presenting a major societal challenge. Healthy ageing has therefore been selected by EU policy makers as an important priority ( http://www.healthyageing.eu/european-policies-and-initiatives ); it benefits not only the elderly but also their direct environment and broader society, as well as the economy. The theme of healthy ageing figures prominently in the Horizon 2020 programme ( https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/health-demographic-change-and-wellbeing ), which has launched several research and innovation actions (RIA), like "Understanding health, ageing and disease: determinants, risk factors and pathways" in the work programme on "Personalising healthcare" ( https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/693-phc-01-2014.html ). Here we present our research proposal entitled "ageing with elegans" (AwE) ( http://www.h2020awe.eu/ ), funded by this RIA, which aims for better understanding of the factors causing health and disease in ageing, and to develop evidence-based prevention, diagnostic, therapeutic and other strategies. The aim of this article, authored by the principal investigators of the 17 collaborating teams, is to describe briefly the rationale, aims, strategies and work packages of AwE for the purposes of sharing our ideas and plans with the biogerontological community in order to invite scientific feedback, suggestions, and criticism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Naamsestraat 59, Box 2469, 3000, Leuven, Belgium. walter.luyten@med.kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Luyten
authors.affiliation: Department of Measurement and Information Systems, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Abiomics Europe Ltd., Budapest, 1118, Hungary.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Antal
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Ghent University, Proeftuinstraat 86N1, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bart P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Braeckman
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus Exhibition road, SW7 2AZ, London, UK.
authors.forename: Jake
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bundy
authors.affiliation: Section of Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cirulli
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, 210 S 33rd St, 240 Skirkanich Hall, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fang-Yen
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biostatistics and Informatics in Medicine and Ageing Research, Rostock University Medical Center, 18057, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fuellen
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus Exhibition road, SW7 2AZ, London, UK.
authors.forename: Armand
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leroi
authors.affiliation: Tsinghua University, B 407, Medical Science Building, Haidian District, 100084, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qingfei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Cell Biology Laboratory, Food Biotechnology Department, Biópolis SL, Paterna, 46980, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martorell
authors.affiliation: Estonian Genome Center & Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Tartu, Riia Street 23B, 51010, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: Andres
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Metspalu
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.|Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki, Mannerheimintie 166, 00271, Helsinki, Finland.|The Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu, 50090, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perola
authors.affiliation: Energy Metabolism Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich, Schorenstrasse 16, 8603, Schwerzenbach, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ristow
authors.affiliation: Molecular Genetics Group, Faculty of Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Chausseestr. 117, 10115, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Saul
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genomics and Proteomics, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Naamsestraat 59, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Liliane
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schoofs
authors.affiliation: Analyticon Discovery GmbH, Hermannswerder Haus 17, 14473, Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Siems
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Neurobiology, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Naamsestraat 59, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Liesbet
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Temmerman
authors.affiliation: Cartagenia, Part of Agilent Technologies, Inc., Technologielaan 3, 3001, Louvain, Belgium.
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Smets
authors.affiliation: Division of Nutritional Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 17177, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Alicja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wolk
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cellular Ageing, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus-C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Suresh I S
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Rattan
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000502:physiology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D000070497:Healthy Lifestyle / Q000502:physiology*; D008136:Longevity / Q000502:physiology*; D023421:Models, Animal
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
keywords: Caenorhabditis elegans; Healthspan; Longevity Nutraceuticals; Medicinal plants; Natural products