Our research is focused on the actions of vasoactive factors and proteolytic enzymes during the early steps of vascular wall remodeling, a fundamental process which plays a key role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis, aneurysm, myocardial infarction, and arterial hypertension, four of the most prevalent diseases worldwide. We study animal models of these diseases generated in the laboratory, and our ultimate goal is to translate the results of our research into validated clinical tools for diagnosis and treatment.

The following projects are currently running in our laboratory.

1) Identification of molecular determinants involved in the development, progression, and rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) and the development of new tools for noninvasive detection.

2) Determination of the contribution of proteolytic enzymes to the migration and homing of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) during vascular wall repair, and the development of new non-invasive tools for molecular tracking by highfrequency molecular ultrasound.

3) Identification of molecular determinants responsible for cardioprotection during late ischemic pre-conditioning, with the aim of finding new targets of potential benefit in the diagnosis or treatment of cardiac ischemia.

4). Participation in the European Comission funded FP7 HYPERImage project. Generation of a hybrid PET/MR system for concurrent clinical and pre-clinical detection: WP4, preclinical validation of the system towards cardiology: atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction; WP6, management of knowledge.