Research project
Molecular Mechanisms of Vascular Disease
- Start date: 1 November 2021
- End date: 1 November 2025
- Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
- Value: £711384.72
- Partners and collaborators: Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH
- Primary investigator: Prof Francesco Del Galdo
- Co-investigators: Rebecca Ross
- External co-investigators: Dr Sudha Visvanathan, Dr Tobias Litzenburger
- Postgraduate students: Stefano Di Donato
Description
This reverse translation study is to identify the biomarker and molecular characterization of vascular damage in systemic sclerosis (SSc). The study will focus on patients from the Leeds Raynaud’s and Scleroderma Program with extreme phenotypes of vascular involvement, including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and peripheral vasculopathy. These patients will be followed for 12 months, with clinical, imaging, and biosample assessments to understand the cellular and molecular processes driving vascular damage in SSc.