Project description
Multiscale digital twins support development of a vascular rejuvenation paradigm
The European aging population is growing, and aging is the most important risk factor for atherosclerosis. Also called hardening of the arteries, the condition’s build-up of fatty materials or plaques causes hardening and narrowing of vessels. Current treatments including drugs and stents are palliative. The ERC-funded JuvenTwin project aims to develop an unprecedented vascular rejuvenation paradigm based on small molecule inhibitors and cell mechanical stimulations. To simulate and screen rejuvenation treatments, JuvenTwin will leverage multiscale digital twins. These will integrate a 4D high-resolution strain mapper and a micromechanical computational model simulating the dynamical interactions of 100 000 vascular cells in patient-specific arteries.
Objective
Whilst 30% of EU citizens will be over 65 and 10% over 80 by 2050, the healthspan accounts for only 80% of the total life expectancy according to Eurostat, due to the high prevalence of disabling diseases related to the age-induced arterial stiffening. The current paradigm in medicine is to palliate these diseases with sophisticated devices. In JuvenTwin, I propose a complete shift of paradigm by combatting the mechanobiological effects of vascular ageing. Vascular rejuvenation faces many challenges that have only been explored by molecular biologists. My ambition is to address these challenges with a high-risk approach relying on multiscale digital twins and enabling to simulate and screen effective rejuvenation treatments. My hypothesis, already supported by preliminary results, is that this can be achieved by doping the synergistic effects of mechano-regulation in human arteries, which are gradually compromised with vascular ageing. JuvenTwin’s four specific objectives are: 1/ Decipher how ageing affects cell phenotypes and the signalling pathways of mechano-regulation, 2/ Assess the effects of ageing on the mechanical interactions between cells and their matrix, 3/ Simulate computationally the multiscale synergies participating to patient-specific vascular mechano-regulation and finally 4/ Take the control of mechanobiology in aged arteries using small molecule inhibitors and cell mechanical stimulations. With my team, we will reach these objectives by developing two completely novel methodologies: a 4D high-resolution strain mapper and a micromechanical computational model simulating the dynamical interactions of 100,000 vascular cells in patient-specific arteries. Our interdisciplinary approach combining digital spatial transcriptomics, laser interferometry and neural networks will be of very high-gain for discovering therapies against the adverse mechanobiological effects of vascular ageing, potentially reaching the pre-clinical stage at the horizon 2030.
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.
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology homeostasis
- natural sciences physical sciences optics laser physics
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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) ERC-2023-ADG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
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.
91120 Palaiseau
France
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.