Objective
Small vessel disease (SVD) causes 25% of all cerebral strokes and is a major cause of cognitive decline (dementia) and functional disability (ageing) in the elderly. Two important challenges hamper the development of effective treatments. First, still little is known about the mechanism by which SVD leads to macroscopic, ischemic brain damage and, thus, to cognitive decline. Second, the current clinical markers and image-based markers of SVD do not reflect SVD itself, but macroscopic brain damage secondary to SVD. Unlike large vessels, small vessels are not visible with current imaging techniques, which leave, thus, a ‘terra incognita’ of small vessel pathology between large vessels on the one hand, and macroscopic brain damage on the other. The aim of this program is to remove the major current obstacle towards developing effective treatments for SVD, by innovative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques that yield non-invasive markers of small vessel (dys)function in the human brain. I will use two innovative sets of image-based markers to discover the ‘terra incognita’. The first set comprises pulsatile tissue motion, strain and potential pulsations in the capillary flow, recognizing the role of stress and strain in cell function (including endothelial cells and neurons). The second set uses the perivascular fluid as an endogenous marker of the blood-brain-barrier function, which is located in the endothelium of the small vessels. These innovative, image-based markers will open a window towards the mechanism by which SVD leads to brain damage. Further, these markers will enable the selection and monitoring of patients who are eligible for new treatments. I will obtain the required sensitivity and resolution, by exploiting the benefits of high field MRI (7T). I am experienced in cardiac strain imaging, high field brain imaging, and have been successful in multiple translational projects that have introduced new MRI technology into patient studies.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology dementia
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pathology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology stroke
- engineering and technology medical engineering diagnostic imaging magnetic resonance imaging
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2013-StG
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Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
3584 CX Utrecht
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.