Dr Casper Mihl (Dept. of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine) and Dr Chahinda Ghossein-Doha (Dept. of Cardiology), together with their colleagues from the University of Bristol received a grant from the Dutch Heart Foundation together with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and the DZHK Deutsches Zentrum für Herz-Kreislauf-Forschung e. V. for their project ‘Bi-national investigation of placental pathology and maternal cardiovascular health (BI-PATH)’. BI-Path builds further on the previously initiated PEARLS study and is a collaboration between researchers from Maastricht UMC+, Erasmus MC and Radboud MC.

In total €5.2 million over four years was awarded to four international teams. The funding builds on the success of four previous rounds of the funders’ partnership. It is the second year that the call is specifically aimed at supporting researchers who are setting up or expanding their own research group. The funding enables researchers to pool and exchange their knowledge, expertise, and resources to address some of the most urgent questions in cardiovascular science and medicine. The funding will also facilitate the process for researchers to become future leaders in their research field.

Bi-national investigation of placental pathology and maternal cardiovascular health (BI-PATH)

Women who have experienced complications during pregnancy, such as significantly high blood pressure, are at a higher risk of heart and vascular diseases. Issues with placental blood flow further elevate this risk. Researchers are studying how they can identify, through the placenta, which women are at high risk of heart and vascular diseases. They also aim to generate ideas for new treatments through this approach.