MENTOR · Metabolic control of cell growth by mTOR in health and disease: a multi-disciplinary training

MENTOR is a multi-disciplinary training network which focuses on the mTOR pathway, a central mechanistic hub that integrates nutritional cues and controls cell growth and metabolism. Aberrant activation of mTOR underlies monogenic diseases with broad spectrum of pathological manifestations, including tissue overgrowth, polycystic kidneys and neuropsychiatric disorders affecting around two million of people worldwide. To avoid the medical errancy of patients in different clinical departments and surgical mutilations, approaches of personalized medicine depending on the genetic landscape need to be implemented, taking advantage of suitable pharmacological products. The overall goal of the MENTOR research program is to: delineate molecular mechanisms of fundamental and aberrant mTOR functions, preclinically decipher the pathophysiology of mTOR, develop a novel arsenal of drugs to selectively target the pathway and provide proof-of-concept support for such interventions. This ambition can only be achieved by the multidisciplinary research program that MENTOR has conceived, through the training of a new generation of scientists at Graduate Schools of biology, pharmacy, chemistry or medicine that will become the leaders of mTOR research in both public and private sectors. MENTOR will establish a collaborative and efficient network from academia to industry, involving patient associations and clinicians with impact on scientific community and society.