EXC 147:  Cardio-Pulmonary System

Subject Area Medicine
Term from 2006 to 2018
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 24676099
 

Final Report

Final Report Year 2019

Final Report Abstract

Heart and lung diseases are the leading causes of death and represent the highest socioeconomic burden of all diseases worldwide, with multiple interactions and largely unresolved treatment challenges. The Excellence Cluster Cardio-Pulmonary System (ECCPS), comprises the universities and medical hospitals of Frankfurt and Giessen and the Max-Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim, and was created as a Joint Research Centre to combine basic science approaches and bedside clinical research in the following research areas: • Stem/progenitor cells in cardio-pulmonary development, organ maintenance and regeneration • Vascular and cardiac remodelling processes and tailoring of reverse-remodelling therapy • Angiogenesis and alveogenesis in physiology, regeneration and repair • Matrix homeostasis and adaptive versus maladaptive mesenchymal responses in fibrosis • Redox-dependent signalling and interference strategies in hypoxia, ischemia and reoxygenation • Vascular and alveolar barrier integrity during inflammation and repair • The interface between the endocrine system, metabolism and the vasculature • The identification of biomarkers and molecular signatures for personalized medicine ECCPS scientists have made several ground-breaking contributions to these major areas in car-diopulmonary science. This is evidenced by top ranking publications in all of the dedicated research areas, the coordination of large national and international research consortia and - most importantly - the translation of several key findings into clinical use and exploitation. The latter is documented by successfully completed and ongoing phase II/III trials and filed patents. In ECCPS II, we have included several innovative aspects (e.g. epigenetics, metabolomics, in-vivo molecular imaging) in the existing research areas and have set up a novel international research area with the Imperial College London and global partners to combat the lung vascular diseases that represent major public health problems in resourcepoor areas of the world. In addition, we have established a sustainable technology platform that complements existing infrastructure and guarantees all of the ECCPS faculty access to cutting edge technology (e.g. bioinformatics of “omics”, high resolution imaging). Extending our efforts to support young scientists, we have established an ECCPS Academy, by combining the successful graduate programs set up in ECCPS I with postdoctoral and career development programs in basic and clinical cardiopulmonary research. These measures lent further support to the mission of the ECCPS, to decipher the molecular pathogenesis of and create tailored therapy for vascular and parenchymal heart and lung diseases.

Link to the final report

https://dx.doi.org/10.2314/KXP:1697279635

Publications

DFG Programme Clusters of Excellence
Applicant Institution Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main; Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen
Participating Institution Max-Planck-Institut für Herz- und Lungenforschung
W.G. Kerkhoff-Institut
Spokespersons Professorin Dr. Stefanie Dimmeler, since 7/2014; Professor Dr. Werner Seeger; Professor Dr. Andreas Michael Zeiher, until 6/2014
Participating Researchers Professorin Dr. Amparo Acker-Palmer; Professorin Dr. Birgit Assmus; Professor Dr. Saverio Bellusci; Professor Dr. Ralf P. Brandes; Professor Dr. Thomas Braun; Professorin Dr. Gergana Dobreva; Professorin Ingrid Fleming, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Hossein Ardeschir Ghofrani; Professor Dr. Friedrich Grimminger; Professor Dr. Andreas Günther; Professor Dr. Christian Hamm; Professor Dr. Marcus Krüger; Professor Dr. Jürgen Lohmeyer; Professor Dr. Stefan Offermanns; Professor Dr. Michael Potente; Professor Dr. Klaus T. Preissner; Professorin Dr. Liliana Schaefer; Professor Dr. Ralph Schermuly; Professor Dr. M. Lienhard Schmitz; Professor Dr. Robert Voswinckel; Professor Dr. Norbert Weißmann; Professorin Dr. Nina Wettschureck