Project description
Insights into the development of pulmonary hypertension in chronic lung disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Nearly one third of patients with COPD develop abnormally high blood pressure in the lungs, known as pulmonary hypertension. With no approved drug treatment available, this severe complication markedly impairs quality of life and can lead to death. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the PHOENIX project aims to better understand the mechanisms driving the development of pulmonary hypertension in COPD. By integrating clinical data from patient registries with surgical tissue and blood biobanks, researchers and clinicians will identify clinical risk factors, perform multiomics profiling and develop cellular models of the pulmonary vasculature. This multidisciplinary approach will provide new insights to improve management of this life-threatening complication.
Objective
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects over 480 million people worldwide and accounts for more than 3 million deaths each year. Pulmonary hypertension is a common vascular complication observed in approximately 30% of COPD patients, characterized by vascular dysfunction and associated with higher hospitalization rates, impaired quality of life, and significantly reduced survival. To date, no clinical trial has demonstrated a clear benefit of pharmacological therapies for this severe complication, and only surgical interventions offer clinical improvement. Despite its substantial clinical impact, the mechanisms underlying the development of pulmonary hypertension in COPD remain poorly understood, thereby limiting effective clinical management and the advancement of novel therapeutic strategies.
Through my project, I propose an integrative and innovative interdisciplinary approach that bridges clinical and experimental research. Using a database of COPD patients with and without pulmonary hypertension, together with a biobank of matched plasma and lung tissue samples, the project is structured around four main objectives to better understand the development of pulmonary hypertension in COPD:
(i) define key clinical and functional risk factors
(ii) identify circulating and tissue-based molecular signatures through multiomics analysis
(iii) investigate vascular dysfunction using patient-derived cell models
(iv) uncover potential new therapeutic targets capable of restoring normal vascular function
By combining my host institution expertise in omics and large-scale data analysis with my experimental expertise in vascular biology and cellular models, this project will deliver mechanistic insight and translational outputs to improve patient management.
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 human-validated.
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 human-validated.
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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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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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.
8006 Zurich
Switzerland
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.