DZL Researcher Receives ERC Grant for Innovative Lung Fibrosis Research

OMEGA: D: Discovering Early Drivers of Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis is Key to Identifying a Cure

Progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a life-threatening disease with a high mortality rate and low quality of life. Our current understanding of the mechanisms underlying PF is limited to advanced stages, when interventions are less effective because of the irreversible lung scarring.

With the project OMEGA, DZL researcher Dr. Isis Fernandez (CPC-M site) will explore the early mechanisms driving PF to better understand its etiology and develop timely therapies that could stop the disease in its tracks. OMEGA focuses on circulating monocytes, which are linked to PF progression from the insipient state to end-stage disease, and by using interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA), the earliest detectable signs, to discover targets for early treatment of PF.

With access to cutting-edge technology and unique patient cohorts, OMEGA will investigate how monocytes acquire pathogenic traits, offering new strategies to prevent the progression of this deadly disease. Congratulation Isis!

More about the European Research Council (ERC):

The Starting Grants from the European Research Council (ERC) are prestigious funding awards aimed at supporting early-career researchers who are in the process of establishing their own independent research teams or programs. Typically awarded to researchers with 2 to 7 years of experience since completing their PhD, the grant provides significant financial support over five years. The goal is to enable promising scientists across disciplines to pursue groundbreaking projects that have the potential to lead to major scientific breakthroughs.

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