The EUCLIDS project is a 5-year, 12 million Euro study funded by the European Commission to research the genetics of bacterial meningitis and sepsis in children. It involves around 5000 participants across Europe and West Africa and 14 partner institutions coordinated by Imperial College London. The project aims to determine which genes affect susceptibility to infection, severity of disease, and immune response to vaccination in order to develop better prevention and treatment strategies for bacterial diseases in children worldwide.

1. Funded by the European Community’s Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7 2007-2013) under grant
agreement No. 279185
www.euclids-project.eu
Project Facts
~5000 people are anticipated to be
involved in the clinical studies.
12 Million Euros in project funding
provided by the European Commission.
5 years of funding for the project started
on 1/12/2011.
EUCLIDS has 14 partners spread over
3 continents, coordinated by Prof Mike
Levin from Imperial College London.
Contacts
Project coordinator
Prof Mike Levin, Imperial College London
m.levin@imperial.ac.uk
Project manager
Dr Kornelia Jumel, Imperial Consultants
k.jumel@imperial.ac.uk
Project administrator
Dr Louise Chisholm, Imperial Consultants
l.chisholm@imperial.ac.uk
Partners
Imperial College London
University of Liverpool
University of Oxford
Oxford Gene Technology Ltd
Micropathology Ltd
Imperial Consultants
AMC, Amsterdam
Erasmus MC, Rotterdam
Radboud UMC, Nijmegen
Medical University of Graz
Servizo Galego de Saude
Genome Institute of
Singapore
MRC Unit - The Gambia
Novartis Vaccines and
Diagnostics s.r.l.

2. Our vision
Bacterial meningitis causes inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. Bacterial sepsis, caused by blood stream infection, causes shock and organ failure. While the majority of patients fully recover, these conditions can lead to life-changing disabilities or death.
The EUCLIDS project is studying the genetics of children with bacterial meningitis and sepsis in Europe and West Africa.
It aims to determine which genes:
•
affect the likelihood of someone getting meningitis.
•
affect the severity of the disease’s after effects.
•
are involved in the immune response to vaccination against bacterial pathogens.
To answer these questions, we are using the latest approaches and developing innovative techniques to analyse samples collected in the clinical trials.
Bacterial infections are responsible for over a quarter of all deaths in children worldwide. This has persisted despite the availability of antibiotics and vaccines.
We intend to increase our understanding of how our immune system reacts to infection. This will help us to develop better treatments.
EUCLIDS researchers are focussing on bacterial meningitis and sepsis to develop a new approach that can be used to study any childhood bacterial infectious disease, such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, and salmonella.
Our project
Our legacy
The EUCLIDS project will increase our understanding of the genes that are involved in a child’s immune response to bacterial meningitis and sepsis.
This will help future researchers to:
•
better identify those at risk of infection or having severe after effects.
•
develop novel treatments.
•
develop better preventative strategies.
•
apply this approach to other bacterial diseases.
To improve the treatment of childhood infectious diseases