Projects | TICARDIO

TICARDIO's program is designed to discover and validate new interactions in the crosstalk between vasculature- and blood-driven inflammatory and prothrombotic processes, and furthermore to identify diagnostic biomarkers and potential targets of intervention. The scientific projects are intertwined and require scientists with diversified skills to exploit a multitude of transgenic mice strains, available in the participating laboratories, with altered platelet, endothelial, or leukocyte phenotype, in combination with a broad range of new techniques in imaging (multi-photon, spinning-disc, and intravital microscopy; high-resolution ultrasound, high-end NMR spectroscopic imaging), flow cytometry, quantitative shot-gun and targeted (phospho)proteomics with high-throughput protein profiling using the newest Orbitrap mass spectrometers, omics (genomics, lipidomics, transcriptomics), exclusive multiplex microfluidic assays for ex vivo blood flow studies, providing environments that mimic the inflamed and thrombotic vessel wall (vessel-on-a-chip), and various coagulation assays. These techniques are applied to in vitro and in vivo studies, using the newest experimental models of thrombosis and inflammation. Providing these diverging techniques lays beyond the possibilities of a single institute, but will be essential to decipher the complex deregulated interactions in blood and vessel wall, causing thrombo-inflammation.

General requirements for all projects:

Master degree (or equivalent) in Biomedical Science or similar field
Profound interest in biomedical research
Willingness
- to learn new skills and technologies
- to work with animal models (apart from project 11)
- to travel and work in different laboratories of collaboration partners within the EU
Able to prioritise own work and understand complex relations
Flexible, self-motivated, hardworking, enquiring attitude, critical approach
Very good communication, collaboration (team player) and organisational skills
Very good English language skills (written and oral)

Project 1:

Primary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Katrin Schäfer (CTH)

Formation mechanisms of endothelial extracellular vesicles (EV) in thrombo-inflammation.

Project 2:

Primary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Philip Wenzel (CTH)

Converging and distinct roles of coagulation factors (F) XI and XII in vascular thrombo-inflammation

Project 3:

Primary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Leon Schurgers (CARIM)

Blood coagulation and vascular protease-activated receptors to steer vascular remodelling.

Project 4:

Primary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Christophe Dubois (C2VN)

Vessel wall-driven platelet and neutrophil activation.

Project 5:

Primary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Florence Sabatier (C2VN)

Senescence in vascular dysfunction and thrombo-inflammation.

Project 6:

Primary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Wolfram Ruf (CTH)

Tissue factor pathway and extracellular vesicles in thrombo-inflammation.

Project 7:

Primary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Tilman Hackeng (CARIM)

Regulation of smooth muscle cell phenotype switching by tissue factor pathway inhibitor.

Project 8:

Primary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Albert Sickmann (ISAS)

Endothelial-derived inhibiting and activating pathways of platelets in thrombosis

Project 9:

Primary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Johan Heemskerk (CARIM)

Mechanisms of platelet and coagulation activation in inflammatory vessel-on-a-chip models.

Project 10:

Primary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Francoise Dignat-George (C2VN)

Multifaceted functions of extracellular vesicles in a thrombus and in thrombo-inflammation.

Project 11:

Primary supervisor: Dr. Elisabetta Castoldi (CARIM)

Alternative splicing in the regulation of thrombo-inflammation.

Project 12:

Primary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Sven Danckwardt (CTH)

Deregulated transcriptome 3’ end diversification affecting thrombo-inflammation.

Project 13:

Primary supervisor: Prof. Pierre Morange (C2VN)

Epidemiolomics of thrombin generation in thrombo-inflammation.

Project 14:

Primary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Philipp Wild (CTH)

Multifaceted analysis of coagulant activity in venous thrombo-inflammation.

Project 15:

Primary supervisor: Prof. Dr. Hugo ten Cate (CARIM)

Phenotyping atherothrombosis in patients at risk of cardiovascular disease.