Project description
The role of mitochondria in ischaemic heart disease
Myocardial infarction affects millions of people every year and may lead to heart failure or even death. Despite our mechanistic understanding of ischaemic heart disease, there is still no curative therapy. The EU-funded MitoFORMSinHF project focuses on the pathogenesis of myocardial infarction and especially on the role of metabolism and in particular mitochondria. Researchers will study the mechanism of mitochondrial remodelling and apoptosis after cardiac injury, which has the potential to unveil novel molecular targets for mitochondria maintenance. Ultimately this could lead to the design of targeted therapies for cardiac regeneration.
Objective
Every year 15.9 million people worldwide suffer a myocardial infarction (MI) causing sudden death in some individuals and predisposing survivors to recurrent MI’s and heart failure (HF), making ischemic heart disease the greatest contributor to human mortality. Research has uncovered molecular mechanisms that contribute to cellular demise during ischemic heart disease, however, to date there is no effective molecularly designed therapeutic. Recent studies implicate metabolism in ischemic cardiac injury pathogenesis. Optic Atrophy 1 (OPA1), a dynamin-related inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) protein, orchestrates IMM fusion and maintains mitochondrial cristae form and structure. During MI disassembly of OPA1-containing oligomers ultimately induces apoptosis. Solute carrier family members (SLC25As) are thought to sense metabolic alterations and influence OPA1 oligomerization to regulate cristae function and shape, implicating metabolism in mitochondrial cristae formation. Whether metabolic sources or metabolic changes during IR injury contribute to disruption of OPA1 assembly, cristae maintenance, and apoptosis are yet to be elucidated. This is of great scientific interest because of the promising therapeutic potential to prevent pathogenic cristae remodeling and apoptosis during IR injury. I will work with state of the art imaging equipment within the Department of Biology at Padua University and receive expert training in mitochondrial biology under the supervision of Dr. Luca Scorrano in order to investigate if metabolic sources contribute to cristae maintenance and are implicated in ischemic cardiac injury. I will disseminate knowledge gained to American and European research societies focused on basic cardiovascular biology by attending conferences and the general public through the use of social media and scientific outreach. This proposals completion will launch my career as an independent investigator in Europe and forge international research connections.
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
35122 PADOVA
Italy
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.