Dr Silvia Fanti from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), has been awarded the prestigious Immediate Postdoctoral Basic Science Research Fellowship by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). This award will support Dr Fanti over 4 years, on a project investigating the role of adaptive immunity in Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy (ACM).
Dr Silvia Fanti
Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy, a heart muscle disease, is a leading cause of sudden death among young people. The condition is often inherited, but the way in which it damages the heart muscle is poorly understood. The human body has specialized systems to protect against invading microorganisms through a process called inflammation. This is facilitated by specialised immune cells that circulate in our blood and move from organ to organ to perform their actions. However, in some diseases like ACM, the immune system targets human tissues in an autoimmune process.
Dr Silvia Fanti, Postdoctoral Researcher at William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, explained: “It is known that patients with ACM have inflammation in the heart muscle. In a pilot study of patients with ACM we have identified a high number of immune cells that specialise in targeting heart tissue. In this project, we will characterise immune system activation and its significance with respect to disease development and progression. We will also study the immune response of individuals that inherit the genes of ACM but do not develop disease. Finally, we will test the therapeutic effect of targeting the adverse immune response in a model of ACM.”
The BHF Immediate Postdoctoral Fellowship offers an opportunity for the most promising newly qualified postdoctoral researchers to make an early start in developing their independent cardiovascular research careers in an established institution in the UK.
Dr Fanti's study will be hosted by Queen Mary University of London, within Professor Federica Marelli-Berg's laboratory, and co-supervised by Professor Perry Elliot from University College London. Collaborators on this project include Dr. Giancarlo Forte from King’s College and industry partners such as AstraZeneca.