Queen Mary, University of London is leading the UK’s part in a European-wide collaboration which has been given the green light to accelerate scientific discovery in hormonal disorders.
The funding for the collaboration, from the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)*, will enable researchers, clinicians and geneticists to work together to investigate people who have a deficiency in GnRH, a hormone necessary for the onset of puberty and for reproduction.
Queen Mary’s Professor of Paediatric Endocrinology, Leo Dunkel, an internationally recognised leader in hormonal development and puberty, is chairing the UK’s arm of the group, involving 50 other European researchers.
“I’ve seen many children suffer from hormonal disorders; this European-wide collaboration is necessary to focus resources and accelerate the pace of research in this field,” he said.
“The funds will bring together leaders in hormonal disorder research from across Europe to help identify the genes and mechanisms responsible for puberty, hopefully giving children with either an early or delayed onset of puberty a way to identify and manage their conditions more effectively.”
Professor Dunkel has had a long lasting interest in the area of growth and puberty. He joined Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary, University of London in February 2011 from Finland.
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