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ERC Advanced Grant awarded to Prof. Andy Baker

ERC Advanced Grant awarded to Prof. Andy Baker

15 April 2024

Prof. Andy Baker (Dept of Pathology) has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant of €2,5M for his research project PolymiRize: Poly-miRNA targeting to prevent and reverse complex tissue remodelling after acute cardiovascular events'.

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Longer and better lives for patients with atrial fibrillation

Longer and better lives for patients with atrial fibrillation

15 April 2024

An international panel of experts published recommendations to improve management of atrial fibrillation (AF).

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Carim Maastricht
Carim Maastricht

Christian Weber

Professor

Prof. Christian Weber is the Chair in Vascular Medicine and the Director of the Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention at Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich, Germany, and Professor at the CARIM. After graduating and completing his training in internal medicine at LMU and Harvard Medical School, Boston, he was board-certified in clinical cardiology and appointed as a Chair in Molecular Cardiology at RWTH Aachen University. His group has a strong interest in the molecular interactions and patho-physiological functions of chemokines and immune cell subsets, as well as the role of microRNAs and their targets in vascular disease and atherosclerosis, while his clinical interests focus on developing novel biomarkers and biopharmaceuticals. He is the Spokesman of the DFG Collaborative Research Centre SFB1123 and coordinates the partner site Munich Heart Alliance in the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK). Among numerous awards, he is a double ERC Advanced Investigator Grant recipient and Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher with more than 560 publications and an h-index of 97. He serves as the Editor-in-Chiefof Thrombosis&Haemostasis, Senior Associate Editor of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis & Vascular Biology andco-founderofCarolusTherapeutics Inc. and Cartesio Therapeutics Inc.

  • Vascular Immunotherapy, German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (BMBF DZHK
  • MHA VD1.2), 2019-2020
  • Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), DFG Excellence Initiative, 2019-2026
  • ERC Advanced Grant °692511, PROVASC: Cell-specific vascular protection by CXCL12/CXCR4, 2016- 2022 ERC AdG
  • NIH 1R01HL122843, Molecular mechanisms linking CXCL12 to atherosclerosis, 2017-2020
  • DFG Collaborative Research Centre 1123 Atherosclerosis: new therapeutic targets, 2014-2022
Christian-weber

Department of Biochemistry
Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht
PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht

  • 2024
    • Strohm, L., Daiber, A., Ubbens, H., Krishnankutty, R., Oelze, M., Kuntic, M., Hahad, O., Klein, V., Hoefer, I. E., von Kriegsheim, A., Kleinert, H., Atzler, D., Lurz, P., Weber, C., Wild, P. S., Münzel, T., Knosalla, C., Lutgens, E., & Daub, S. (2024). Role of inflammatory signaling pathways involving the CD40-CD40L-TRAF cascade in diabetes and hypertension-insights from animal and human studies. Basic Research in Cardiology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00395-024-01045-1
    • Vos, W. G., van Os, B. W., den Toom, M., Beckers, L., van Roomen, C. P. A. A., van Tiel, C. M., Mohapatra, B. C., Band, H., Nitz, K., Weber, C., Atzler, D., de Winther, M. P. J., Bosmans, L. A., Lutgens, E., & Seijkens, T. T. P. (2024). T cell specific deletion of Casitas B lineage lymphoma-b reduces atherosclerosis, but increases plaque T cell infiltration and systemic T cell activation. Frontiers in Immunology, 15, Article 1297893. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1297893
    • Döring, Y., van der Vorst, E. P. C., Yan, Y., Neideck, C., Blanchet, X., Jansen, Y., Kemmerich, M., Bayasgalan, S., Peters, L. J. F., Hristov, M., Bidzhekov, K., Yin, C., Zhang, X., Leberzammer, J., Li, Y., Park, I., Kral, M., Nitz, K., Parma, L., ... Weber, C. (2024). Identification of a non-canonical chemokine-receptor pathway suppressing regulatory T cells to drive atherosclerosis. Nature cardiovascular research, 3(2), 221-242. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-023-00413-9
    • Lip, G. Y. H., Rigby, A., & Weber, C. (2024). A Happy New Year 2024 from Thrombosis and Haemostasis!Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 124(1), 1-3. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-1778033
    • Weber, C., Rigby, A., & Lip, G. Y. H. (2024). Thrombosis and Haemostasis 2023 Editors' Choice Papers. Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 124(1), 80-87. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-1778032
  • 2023
    • Kral, M., van der Vorst, E. P. C., Surnov, A., Weber, C., & Doering, Y. (2023). ILC2-mediated immune crosstalk in chronic (vascular) inflammation. Frontiers in Immunology, 14, Article 1326440. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1326440
    • Cimen, I., Natarelli, L., Abedi Kichi, Z., Henderson, J. M., Farina, F. M., Briem, E., Aslani, M., Megens, R. T. A., Jansen, Y., Mann-Fallenbuchel, E., Gencer, S., Duchêne, J., Nazari-Jahantigh, M., van der Vorst, E. P. C., Enard, W., Döring, Y., Schober, A., Santovito, D., & Weber, C. (2023). Targeting a cell-specific microRNA repressor of CXCR4 ameliorates atherosclerosis in mice. Science translational medicine, 15(720), Article eadf3357. https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.adf3357
    • Bianchini, M., Moeller-Ramon, Z., Weber, C., Megens, R., & Duchene, J. (2023). Short-term western diet causes rapid and lasting alterations of bone marrow physiology. Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 123(11), 1100-1104. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2149-4431
    • Pekayvaz, K., Gold, C., Hoseinpour, P., Engel, A., Martinez-Navarro, A., Eivers, L., Coletti, R., Joppich, M., Dionísio, F., Kaiser, R., Tomas, L., Janjic, A., Knott, M., Mehari, F., Polewka, V., Kirschner, M., Boda, A., Nicolai, L., Schulz, H., ... Stark, K. (2023). Mural cell-derived chemokines provide a protective niche to safeguard vascular macrophages and limit chronic inflammation. Immunity, 56(10), 2325-2341.e15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2023.08.002
    • Wagner, J. U. G., Tombor, L. S., Malacarne, P. F., Kettenhausen, L. M., Panthel, J., Kujundzic, H., Manickam, N., Schmitz, K., Cipca, M., Stilz, K. A., Fischer, A., Muhly-Reinholz, M., Abplanalp, W. T., John, D., Mohanta, S. K., Weber, C., Habenicht, A. J. R., Buchmann, G. K., Angendohr, S., ... Dimmeler, S. (2023). Aging impairs the neurovascular interface in the heart. Science, 381(6660), 897-906. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ade4961
    • Sachs, S., Götz, A., Finan, B., Feuchtinger, A., DiMarchi, R. D., Döring, Y., Weber, C., Tschöp, M. H., Müller, T. D., & Hofmann, S. M. (2023). GIP receptor agonism improves dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis independently of body weight loss in preclinical mouse model for cardio-metabolic disease. Cardiovascular Diabetology, 22(1), Article 217. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12933-023-01940-2
    • Weber, C., Habenicht, A. J. R., & von Hundelshausen, P. (2023). Novel mechanisms and therapeutic targets in atherosclerosis: inflammation and beyond. European Heart Journal, 44(29), 2672-2681. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehad304
    • Reiche, M. E., Poels, K., Bosmans, L. A., Vos, W. G., Van Tiel, C. M., Gijbels, M. J. J., Aarts, S. A. B. M., Den Toom, M., Beckers, L., Weber, C., Atzler, D., Rensen, P. C. N., Kooijman, S., & Lutgens, E. (2023). Adipocytes control hematopoiesis and inflammation through CD40 signaling. Haematologica-the Hematology Journal, 108(7), 1873-1885. https://doi.org/10.3324/haematol.2022.281482
    • Blanchet, X., Weber, C., & von Hundelshausen, P. (2023). Chemokine Heteromers and Their Impact on Cellular Function-A Conceptual Framework. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(13), Article 10925. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241310925
    • Farina, F. M., Weber, C., & Santovito, D. (2023). The emerging landscape of non-conventional RNA functions in atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis, 374(1), 74-86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2023.01.009
    • Bosmans, L. A., van Tiel, C. M., Aarts, S. A. B. M., Willemsen, L., Baardman, J., van Os, B. W., den Toom, M., Beckers, L., Ahern, D. J., Levels, J. H. M., Jongejan, A., Moerland, P. D., Verberk, S. G. S., van den Bossche, J., de Winther, M. M. P. J., Weber, C., Atzler, D., Monaco, C., Gerdes, N., ... Lutgens, E. (2023). Myeloid CD40 deficiency reduces atherosclerosis by impairing macrophages' transition into a pro-inflammatory state. Cardiovascular Research, 119(5), 1146-1160. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac084
    • Bonfiglio, C. A., Weber, C., Atzler, D., & Lutgens, E. (2023). Immunotherapy and cardiovascular diseases: novel avenues for immunotherapeutic approaches. QJM: An International Journal of Medicine, 116(4), 271-278. https://doi.org/10.1093/qjmed/hcab207
    • Egea, V., Megens, R. T. A., Santovito, D., Wantha, S., Brandl, R., Siess, W., Khani, S., Soehnlein, O., Bartelt, A., Weber, C., & Ries, C. (2023). Properties and fate of human mesenchymal stem cells upon miRNA let-7f-promoted recruitment to atherosclerotic plaques. Cardiovascular Research, 119(1), 155-166. Article cvac022. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac022
    • Van Os, B. W., Vos, W. G., Bosmans, L. A., Van Tiel, C. M., Lith, S. C., Den Toom, M. S., Beckers, L., Levels, J. H. M., Van Wouw, S. A. E., Zelcer, N., Zaal, E. A., Berkers, C. R., Van Der Lest, C. H. A., Helms, J. B., Weber, C., Atzler, D., De Winther, M. P. J., Baardman, J., & Lutgens, E. (2023). Hyperlipidaemia elicits an atypical, T helper 1-like CD4+T-cell response: A key role for very low-density lipoprotein. European heart journal open, 3(2), Article oead013. https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjopen/oead013
    • Wang, Z., Zhang, X., Lu, S., Zhang, C., Ma, Z., Su, R., Li, Y., Sun, T., Li, Y., Hong, M., Deng, X., Rafiee Monjezi, M., Hristov, M., Steffens, S., Santovito, D., Dornmair, K., Ley, K., Weber, C., Mohanta, S. K., ... Yin, C. (2023). Pairing of single-cell RNA analysis and T cell antigen receptor profiling indicates breakdown of T cell tolerance checkpoints in atherosclerosis. Nature cardiovascular research, 2(3), 290-306. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-023-00218-w
    • Krammer, C., Yang, B. S., Reichl, S., Besson-Girard, S., Ji, H., Bolini, V., Schulte, C., Noels, H., Schlepckow, K., Jocher, G., Werner, G., Willem, M., El Bounkari, O., Kapurniotu, A., Gokce, O., Weber, C., Mohanta, S., & Bernhagen, J. (2023). Pathways linking aging and atheroprotection in Mif- deficient atherosclerotic mice. Faseb Journal, 37(3), Article e22752. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.202200056R
    • van der Vorst, E. P. C., Maas, S. L., Theodorou, K., Peters, L. J. F., Jin, H., Rademakers, T., Gijbels, M. J., Rousch, M., Jansen, Y., Weber, C., Lehrke, M., Lebherz, C., Yildiz, D., Ludwig, A., Bentzon, J. F., Biessen, E. A. L., & Donners, M. M. P. C. (2023). Endothelial ADAM10 controls cellular response to oxLDL and its deficiency exacerbates atherosclerosis with intraplaque hemorrhage and neovascularization in mice. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 10(1), Article 974918. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2023.974918
    • Lip, G. Y. H., Rigby, A., & Weber, C. (2023). A Happy New Year 2023 from Thrombosis and Haemostasis. Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 123(1), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-1760264
    • Weber, C., Blanchet, X., & Lip, G. Y. H. (2023). Thrombosis and Haemostasis 2022 Editors' Choice Papers. Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 123(01), 123-130. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-1760263
  • 2022
    • Guillamat-Prats, R., Hering, D., Derle, A., Rami, M., Härdtner, C., Santovito, D., Rinne, P., Bindila, L., Hristov, M., Pagano, S., Vuilleumier, N., Schmid, S., Janjic, A., Enard, W., Weber, C., Maegdefessel, L., Faussner, A., Hilgendorf, I., & Steffens, S. (2022). GPR55 in B cells limits atherosclerosis development and regulates plasma cell maturation. Nature cardiovascular research, 1, 1056-1071. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-022-00155-0
    • Evans, P. C., Davidson, S. M., Wojta, J., Bäck, M., Bollini, S., Brittan, M., Catapano, A. L., Chaudhry, B., Cluitmans, M., Gnecchi, M., Guzik, T. J., Hoefer, I., Madonna, R., Monteiro, J. P., Morawietz, H., Osto, E., Padró, T., Sluimer, J. C., Tocchetti, C. G., ... Weber, C. (2022). From novel discovery tools and biomarkers to precision medicine-basic cardiovascular science highlights of 2021/22. Cardiovascular Research, 118(13), 2754-2767. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac114
    • Hettwer, J., Hinterdobler, J., Miritsch, B., Deutsch, M.-A., Li, X., Mauersberger, C., Moggio, A., Braster, Q., Gram, H., Robertson, A. A. B., Cooper, M. A., Groß, O., Krane, M., Weber, C., Koenig, W., Soehnlein, O., Adamstein, N. H., Ridker, P., Schunkert, H., ... Sager, H. B. (2022). Interleukin-1β suppression dampens inflammatory leucocyte production and uptake in atherosclerosis. Cardiovascular Research, 118(13), 2778-2791. Article 337. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvab337
    • Habenicht, L. K. L., Wang, Z. H., Zhang, X., Li, Y. F., Mogler, C., Huspenina, J. S., Schmid, R. M., Weber, C., Mohanta, S. K., Ma, Z., & Yin, C. J. (2022). The C1q-ApoE complex: A new hallmark pathology of viral hepatitis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Frontiers in Immunology, 13, Article 970938. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.970938
    • Brandhofer, M., Hoffmann, A., Blanchet, X., Siminkovitch, E., Rohlfing, A. K., El Bounkari, O., Nestele, J. A., Bild, A., Kontos, C., Hille, K., Rohde, V., Froehlich, A., Golemi, J., Gokce, O., Krammer, C., Scheiermann, P., Tsilimparis, N., Sachs, N., Kempf, W. E., ... Bernhagen, J. (2022). Heterocomplexes between the atypical chemokine MIF and the CXC-motif chemokine CXCL4L1 regulate inflammation and thrombus formation. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 79(10), Article 512. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-022-04539-0
    • Nitz, K., Lacy, M., Bianchini, M., Wichapong, K., Kücükgöze, I. A., Bonfiglio, C. A., Migheli, R., Wu, Y., Burger, C., Li, Y., Forné, I., Ammar, C., Janjic, A., Mohanta, S., Duchene, J., Heemskerk, J. W. M., Megens, R. T. A., Schwedhelm, E., Huveneers, S., ... Atzler, D. (2022). The Amino Acid Homoarginine Inhibits Atherogenesis by Modulating T-Cell Function. Circulation Research, 131(8), 701-712. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.122.321094
    • Santovito, D., & Weber, C. (2022). Non-canonical features of microRNAs: paradigms emerging from cardiovascular disease. Nature Reviews Cardiology, 19(9), 620-638. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-022-00680-2
    • Santovito, D., & Weber, C. (2022). Publisher Correction: Non-canonical features of microRNAs: paradigms emerging from cardiovascular disease. Nature Reviews Cardiology, 19(9), 639-639. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-022-00733-6
    • Mohanta, S. K., Weber, C., Yin, C., & Habenicht, A. J. R. (2022). The dawn has come for new therapeutics to treat atherosclerosis: Targeting neuroimmune cardiovascular interfaces in artery brain circuits. Clinical and Translational Medicine, 12(9), Article e1040. https://doi.org/10.1002/ctm2.1040
    • Taş, K., Volta, B. D., Lindner, C., El Bounkari, O., Hille, K., Tian, Y., Puig-Bosch, X., Ballmann, M., Hornung, S., Ortner, M., Prem, S., Meier, L., Rammes, G., Haslbeck, M., Weber, C., Megens, R. T. A., Bernhagen, J., & Kapurniotu, A. (2022). Designed peptides as nanomolar cross-amyloid inhibitors acting via supramolecular nanofiber co-assembly. Nature Communications, 13(1), Article 5004. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32688-0
    • Farina, F. M., Santovito, D., & Weber, C. (2022). Two-Faced Janus: CCR2-Expressing Macrophages and Their Dual Role in Allograft Rejection of the Transplanted Heart. Circulation, 146(8), 639-642. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.061088
    • Rot, A., Gutjahr, J. C., Biswas, A., Aslani, M., Hub, E., Thiriot, A., von Andrian, U. H., Megens, R. T. A., Weber, C., & Duchene, J. (2022). Murine bone marrow macrophages and human monocytes do not express atypical chemokine receptor 1. Cell stem cell, 29(7), 1013-1015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2021.11.010
    • Ferdinandy, P., Koller, Á., Weber, C., Wojta, J., & Waltenberger, J. (2022). Frontiers in CardioVascular Biomedicine (FCVB) 2022 Budapest is on in person! The excellent programme proves that scientists won against COVID-19. Cardiovascular Research, 118(8), E59-E61. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac064
    • Gencer, S., Döring, Y., Jansen, Y., Bayasgalan, S., Yan, Y., Bianchini, M., Cimen, I., Müller, M., Peters, L. J. F., Megens, R. T. A., von Hundelshausen, P., Duchene, J., Lemnitzer, P., Soehnlein, O., Weber, C., & van der Vorst, E. P. C. (2022). Endothelial ACKR3 drives atherosclerosis by promoting immune cell adhesion to vascular endothelium. Basic Research in Cardiology, 117(1), 17. Article 30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00395-022-00937-4
    • Liu, Y., Shi, J. Z., Jiang, R., Liu, S. F., He, Y. Y., van der Vorst, E. P. C., Weber, C., Doering, Y., & Yan, Y. (2022). Regulatory T Cell-Related Gene Indicators in Pulmonary Hypertension. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 13, Article 908783. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.908783
    • Georgakis, M. K., Bernhagen, J., Heitman, L. H., Weber, C., & Dichgans, M. (2022). Targeting the CCL2-CCR2 axis for atheroprotection. European Heart Journal, 43(19), 1799-1808. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehac094
    • Mohanta, S. K., Peng, L., Li, Y., Lu, S., Sun, T., Carnevale, L., Perrotta, M., Ma, Z., Förstera, B., Stanic, K., Zhang, C., Zhang, X., Szczepaniak, P., Bianchini, M., Saeed, B. R., Carnevale, R., Hu, D., Nosalski, R., Pallante, F., ... Habenicht, A. J. R. (2022). Neuroimmune cardiovascular interfaces control atherosclerosis. Nature, 605(7908), 152-159. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04673-6
    • Koenen, R. R., & Weber, C. (2022). Jam-A Unleashed Incites Thromboinflammatory Coronary Artery Disease. JACC: Basic to Translational Science, 7(5), 462-464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacbts.2022.03.014
    • Peters, L. J. F., Baaten, C. C. F. M. J., Maas, S. L., Lu, C., Nagy, M., Jooss, N. J., Bidzhekov, K., Santovito, D., Moreno-Andrés, D., Jankowski, J., Biessen, E. A. L., Döring, Y., Heemskerk, J. W. M., Weber, C., Kuijpers, M. J. E., & van der Vorst, E. P. C. (2022). MicroRNA-26b Attenuates Platelet Adhesion and Aggregation in Mice. Biomedicines, 10(5), Article 983. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10050983
    • Leberzammer, J., Agten, S. M., Blanchet, X., Duan, R., Ippel, H., Megens, R. T. A., Schulz, C., Aslani, M., Duchene, J., Döring, Y., Jooss, N. J., Zhang, P., Brandl, R., Stark, K., Siess, W., Jurk, K., Heemskerk, J. W. M., Hackeng, T. M., Mayo, K. H., ... von Hundelshausen, P. (2022). Targeting platelet-derived CXCL12 impedes arterial thrombosis. Blood, 139(17), 2691-2705. https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.2020010140
    • Lip, G. Y. H., Rigby, A., & Weber, C. (2022). A Rollercoaster Plunge into 2022. Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 122(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0041-1741073
    • Weber, C., Rigby, A., & Lip, G. Y. H. (2022). Thrombosis and Haemostasis 2021 Editors' Choice Papers. Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 122(01), 163-170. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0041-1741072
  • 2021
    • He, Y. Y., Xie, X. M., Zhang, H. D., Ye, J., Gencer, S., van der Vorst, E. P. C., Doering, Y., Weber, C., Pang, X. B., Jing, Z. C., Yan, Y., & Han, Z. Y. (2021). Corrigendum: Identification of Hypoxia Induced Metabolism Associated Genes in Pulmonary Hypertension. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12, Article 810178. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.810178
Overview