MC Members:

Alena Gabelova, Amaya Azqueta, Andrew Collins, Annamaria Brech, Blanaid White, Carina Ladeira, Cristian Del Bo, Dermot Walls, Diana Anderson, Jean-Luc Ravanat, Maria Dusinska, Marie Carriere, Milena Radaković, Mirta Milić, Ninoslav Djelić, Nursen Basaran, Patrizia Riso, Pavel Vodicka, Peter Møller, Petros Marangos, Roger Godschalk, Sabine Langie, Siegfried Knasmueller, Sona Vodenkova, Susan Duthie, Zsuzsanna Nemeth

Non MC Members:

Alena Opattova, Ariane Vettorazzi Armental, Cristiana Costa Pereira, Franziska Ferk 

Objective:

To develop the comet-based DNA repair assay as a biomonitoring tool.

Tasks:

1. Analysis of DNA repair data from the unified database; relatively few studies have included DNA repair as a biomarker, and so the information from this analysis will be provisional.
2. Researchers within hCOMET with an interest in the topic will carry out validation tests (measuring repair capacity in identical samples of cells) and will explore aspects of the assay (such as the dependence on protein concentration) that are not fully understood at present.

Milestones:

Framework for further development and validation of the DNA repair assay (Month 12)

Deliverables:

1. Review of DNA repair data from the unified database; possible publication (Month 18)

2. Protocol for using the DNA repair assay in human biomonitoring (Month 24)

Training course:

DNA repair; theory and practice (year 3)

Second Year of the Project

Goal:

Initiation of DNA repair studies; relates to Objectives 4 and 5.

Milestones:

M5.2. Survey existing applications of comet assay in DNA repair biomonitoring (Month 24) 

M5.3. Perform experiments to optimise DNA repair assay (Month 21) 

M5.4. Analyse DNA repair data from unified database (Month 24)

Deliverables:

D5.1. Publication of survey of existing comet assay applications to DNA repair (Month 21) 

D5.2. Protocol for using the DNA repair assay in human biomonitoring (Month 24)