TICARDIO · Thrombo-inflammation in cardiovascular disease

The demographic change with aging populations places a heavy burden on health care systems worldwide. Despite all medical advances, age remains the major risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), one of the top two killers. The aging vasculature provides an environment in which the finely tuned interplay between diverse cell types becomes disarrayed and thus fosters both, inflammation and thrombosis. For atherosclerosis and major vascular complications, i.e. myocardial infarction and stroke, inflammation and thrombosis are central pathological processes that have commonly been investigated independently, but now need integration within the new concept of 'vascular thrombo-inflammation'. Four beneficiaries have formed a strategic alliance to unravel the multifaceted mechanisms involved in thrombo-inflammation in the setting of CVD and identified interconnected research projects that benefit from the collaboration between outstanding centres in France, Germany and The Netherlands. Using unique and complementary advanced technologies, TICARDIO will dissect the mechanistic linkages between inflammation and thrombosis, investigate the multicellular interactions in the vasculature as drivers for thrombo-inflammation, and translate new concepts by multi-omics approaches into patient populations. The programme will train the next generation of basic and translational researchers by exposing them to a multidisciplinary research environment at major academic centres and a range of entrepreneurial and business settings at small and large pharmaceutical companies in Europe. The completion of an independent project in a research area with high unmet medical need will foster the development of creative, open minded and broadly knowledgeable biomedical researchers who are competitive for successful academic and company careers all over Europe. TICARDIO’s structures and interactions will serve as a blueprint for future training programmes in emerging fields of cardiovascular medicine.