CA17129 - Catalysing transcriptomics research in cardiovascular disease (CardioRNA)

This Action aims to create an interdisciplinary network to accelerate the understanding of transcriptomics in cardiovascular disease (CVD) and further the translation of experimental data into usable applications to improve personalized medicine in this field. CVD remains the leading cause of death worldwide and, despite continuous advances, better diagnostic and prognostic tools, as well as therapy, are needed. The human transcriptome, which is the set of all RNA produced in a cell, is much more complex than previously thought and the lack of dialogue between researchers and industrials and consensus on guidelines to generate data make it harder to compare and reproduce results. Currently, there is no network to address the complexity of transcriptomics in CVD, offering an advantage to this Action. It aims to provide opportunities for collaboration between stakeholders from complementary backgrounds, allowing the functions of different RNAs and their interactions to be more rapidly deciphered in the cardiovascular context for translation into the clinic. This Action will generate grant proposals to advance understanding of the transcriptome’s role in CVD and to translate findings into clinical applications, thus fostering personalized medicine and meeting a current public health challenge. CardioRNA will refine guidelines for transcriptomics investigations in CVD to increase reproducibility of results, facilitating clinical product development. It will disseminate knowledge and allow capacity-building through different types of meetings, prioritizing students and early career investigators. Thus, this Action will advance studies on cardiovascular transcriptomics, generate innovative projects and consolidate the leadership of European research groups in the field.