Professor Ruhrberg is the overall lead of a project called Arteriogenesis in Translation (ARTIST), with Professor Brian Annex, from Augusta University, co-leading to represent North America.
The team's proposal, has been awarded a grant under the foundation’s 2025 International Networks of Excellence Program. The total amount of this grant is U.S. $8,500,000, to be distributed over five years. The anticipated start date for the network will be 1 January 2026.
From the proposal's lay abstract.
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), caused by poor blood flow to the legs, is a major cause of illness and death across the globe. It occurs when arteries become too narrow to carry sufficient blood, are blocked or regress entirely. Clinical trials aiming to improve blood flow to muscles by regenerating or remodelling blood vessels have repeatedly failed, highlighting our limited knowledge of the mechanisms that could be harnessed for successful therapy. Ruhrberg and Annex will lead an international network of clinicians, vascular biologists, physicists, and biomedical engineers to understand how complex interactions between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and fluid shear stress (FSS) promote blood vessel growth and enlargement, and how these interactions can be harnessed for therapeutic innovation.
The program was one of three selected in an extremely competitive field. The foundation has expressed enthusiasm for the proposal, and confidence that the collaborative work of the network will significantly improve our knowledge and treatment of cardiovascular disease.