On the 10th of May 2004, the operational launch of the European Vascular Genomics Network (EVGN), the first ever European Union funded Network of Excellence in the field of cardiovascular disease, was announced in Paris. EVGN promotes multidisciplinary interaction by uniting 25 basic and clinical institutions (encompassing 35 academic groups), 2 biotechnology companies and 1 management company, from 10 EU Member or Associated States.
CARIM is participating in 8 "work packages" under supervision of the professors Harry Struijker Boudier, Mat Daemen, Marten Hofker, Cathrien Bruggeman and Jo De Mey. Within these "work packages" 46 researchers, Phd-students and technicians from CARIM are involved.
This Network is one of the Networks of Excellence funded by the European Union within its 6th Framework Programme "Life Science, genomics and biotechnology for Health", aiming at integrating and strengthening the European research area. The EVGN benefits from a global budget of 59.317.827 Euros including 9 million Euros granted by the European Union over a 5 year-period. The EVGN focuses on the study of cardiovascular disease. It integrates new post-genomic approaches (i.e. advanced techniques based on the simultaneous investigation of thousands and thousands of genes and proteins) into more conventional biomedical and biotechnological approaches.
EVGN was implemented on January 1st, 2004, to act as an interface between basic and clinical scientists in order to promote and accelerate the transition of knowledge in vascular biology to improve diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
EVGN is headed by an Executive Committee consisting in 15 European leading scientists in vascular biology, and coordinated by Dr. Alain Tedgui, Inserm, Paris, France. This is a unique effort with the main goal bundling the scientific potential of European research in Vascular Biology. This will be accomplished by persuing a joint research programme and building a communication platform, facilitating data exchange, sharing research tools, and introducing training and scientific exchange programs.
The research activities of the EVGN concentrate on three major areas of cardiovascular disease and therapy:
1. endothelial dysfunction that plays a crucial role in the development of atherosclerosis (the endothelium is the inner lining of blood vessels);
2. instability of the atherosclerotic plaque that is the main cause of arterial thrombus (blood clot) formation leading to coronary artery occlusion and heart attack (the atherosclerotic plaque is an accumulation of scar tissue, blood cells, cholesterol, and other fatty substances into the artery wall; the build-up of plaque narrows the arteries and slows the flow of blood);
3. therapeutic angiogenesis that opens avenues for novel treatment of heart disease meant to improve cardiac oxygenation and reduce heart failure (angiogenesis - from the Greek words angêion, which means "vase", and génesis, which means "birth" - is the science that studies the formation of new vessels which would improve cardiac blood perfusion).
Each of the three areas has the potential for the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies that will provide permanent benefits for patients. This project integrates post-genomic research into the more established biomedical and biotechnological approaches to cardiovascular disease.
The work plan of the EVGN schedules several workshops on different EVGN research area or tools called "work packages". The first workshop on "Genomics and proteomics of the unstable plaque" was organized on May 14th in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The purpose is to make an inventory of the requirements for bioinformatics and to examine how to integrate different platforms on bioinformatics.
The first EVGN Summer School for 60 PhD students of all the participating institutes has been organized by CARIM in Maastricht, The Netherlands In July 2005.
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