ERC Advanced Grant for Prof. Thomas Thum

In heart failure, the heart muscle is too weak to supply the body with enough blood, which then lacks oxygen and important nutrients. However, for half of those affected, pumping efficiency is not the real problem. Due to tissue remodeling, their hearts are too stiff to open and fill the heart chambers with enough blood. So far, cardiac fibrosis is hardly treatable. Professor Thum and his research team are focusing on what is called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA). These are building blocks of our genetic material that are not responsible for the production of proteins, but control certain processes in cells. Previous research of Prof. Thum focused on the lncRNA targets. With the new ERC grant, Prof. Thum takes his work a step further and focuses on circular RNAs to reverse pathological remodelling of the injured heart.

On behalf of the TRAIN-HEART network, we congratulate Prof. Thum with the great achievement.