Projects of the CTVB
The Gutenberg Health Study (GHS), one of the largest prospective cohort studies, includes 15 000 healthy subjects who were studied over a period of five years to identify pathogenetic risk markers for the development of heart attack and tumorgenesis. The clinical-epidemiological results and the results of proteomic genomics will help to determine both new therapeutic targets as well as markers for the early detection and assessment of the effectiveness of new therapies. Publications in prestigious scientific journals (NEJM, JAMA, Nature Genetics) signify the GHS and CTVB strategy: to improve research in the field of cardiovascular biology at the University Medical Center Mainz. In addition, large sums were raised in academic and industrial resources to improve the rapidly growing research portfolio of the CTVB and the participating institutions and structures.
An important structural project in the field of CTVB is the Center for Thrombosis and Hemostasis (CTH). The support of the CTVB has enabled the rapid construction of an excellent infrastructure (analytical platforms); this way, research in the field of thrombosis and hemostasis as well as cardiovascular biology could be expanded. The CTH could establish outstanding new research groups (the four CTH professorships attracted top scientists) and have been fully equipped with the support of the CTVB. Many joint projects with institutions of CTH and CTVB show the outstanding potential of this strategy. The CTH was able to attract a wide range of additional third-party projects, including a Humboldt Professorship (granted in 2013) and big industry-funded clinical trials (inter alia HotPE, approved in 2013).
The CTVB also supports the establishment of the German Center for Cardiovascular Disease (DZHK) to allow a good integration of the University Medical Center Mainz into this important scientific network. Provider of DZHK is the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). In the coming years a permanent national platform for excellent research cooperation is supposed to be enabled in the field of cardiovascular biology. Since the support for the DZHK structures are intended to be permanent (as of 2015, following a review in 2014), CTVB's support for a successful development of the DZHK and its structures / projects plays a special role within the University Medical Center.
To reach a wide audience, the CTVB also supports the "Children’s Academy of Health", the prevention program for children and adolescents of the Foundation Heart of Mainz and the Center of Cardiology. This program supplies information on the prevention of cardiovascular disease while taking into account that risk factors play an important role.
A new focus is the impact of noise ("aircraft noise") on cardiovascular disease. This project will generate further "preventive expertise" and enable the CTVB to provide information for public health. Furthermore, this opens an area with little international competition for the University Medical Center - here, the CTVB can achieve a reference status in a timely manner.