ERS Pulmonary Hypertension Research Awards 2015
Dr Frances de Man
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Dr Frances de Man research focuses on better understanding the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Her PhD concentrated on finding novel therapeutic strategies to improve exercise capacity, to prevent right-heart failure and to better understand the causes of shortness of breath. She investigated neuro-hormonal activation in PAH-patients by assessing the role of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in pulmonary vascular remodelling as part of her Marie-Curie/ERS-funded fellowship at the INSERM Unit 999 research centre for PAH and novel therapies. These studies led to numerous well-cited papers in high-impact journals. |
Dr de Man is currently researching at the Department of Pulmonology at VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam. As the Principal Investigator of translational PAH-research, she focusses on identifying molecular alterations and treatment targets in PAH-induced right heart failure. Recently, she identified the relevance of diastolic impairment of the right ventricle in the pathophysiology of PAH.
ERS Research Director, Professor Maria Belvisi, said: "Dr de Man was one of our prestigious RESPIRE fellows. The unifying theme of her research is the pathophysiological response of the right ventricle to adapt to its increased afterload. By combining state-of-the-art in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro techniques in patients, animal models and unique right ventricular (RV) tissue of PAH-patients, she is able to identify clinically relevant pathophysiological alterations."
Dr Sébastien Bonnet
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Dr Sébastien Bonnet, PhD, has conducted extensive work on miRNAs, metabolism, mitochondria, and ion channels in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). He has presented over 200 abstracts in provincial, national and international meetings and been an invited speaker at numerous institutions and prestigious meetings. Dr Bonnet has initiated the development of the largest cardiopulmonary biobank for PAH tissues in collaboration with centres in Montreal, Quebec and Toronto. The bank gives substantial access to fresh, frozen and paraffin embedded human tissues and the subsequent studies have led to numerous papers in high-impact journals. |
Dr Bonnet is Principal Investigator for the Pulmonary Hypertension and Vascular Biology Research Group (PHVBRG). The PHVBRG is based on strong collaboration between clinical investigators and basic scientists working together on pulmonary vascular diseases according to a translational-clinical research programme.
ERS Research Director, Professor Maria Belvisi, said: "Dr Bonnet has fostered strong collaborations between clinical investigators and fundamental researchers to strengthen the field of pulmonary hypertension. He has achieved great successes and built a strong team to explain the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension, to identify the mechanisms of the disease and to develop new therapeutic approaches to improve patients' quality of life."
The ERS Pulmonary Hypertension Research Award is a €40,000 grant, financially supported by Bayer, offered to two researchers pursuing an active research project in the field of pulmonary hypertension.
Dr Frances de Man and Prof. Sébastien Bonnet will be presented with the ERS Pulmonary Hypertension Research Award at the Year in Review: Interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary embolism and sleep apnoea, on Sunday 27 September 2015, from 14:45 in Room 7.1.