South Asians make up 20% of the global population and have a strikingly high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), leading to significant mortality. Our immune system plays a role in the development of CVD. In this project, dr. Mariëtte Boon (Erasmus MC) will study CVD in South Asians: is inflammation the missing piece of the puzzle? For this project, Boon has been awarded a Vidi grant of the Dutch Research Council.

In this Vidi project, Boon will compare various components of the immune system between South Asians and Europeans, including the relatively novel concept of ‘trained immunity’, the concept that also the innate immune system has an immunological memory. Studying inflammation as an underlying contributor may open potential therapeutic avenues to prevent or treat the high cardiovascular disease risk in South Asians. For this, she will also investigate whether innovative lifestyle interventions and existing medications can reduce the inflammatory response in South Asians. The goal is to identify new, affordable treatments to lower the risk of CVD in South Asians. This will allow healthcare to be better tailored to ethnic background, reducing both disease burden and healthcare costs.

This project follows up on recent discoveries Boon and her team made regarding the inflammatory phenotype of South Asians within the COOLBAT consortium. In addition, Boon is currently studying potential differences in stress and glucocorticoid activity in South Asians compared with Europids (read more). With this grant Mariëtte Boon can further develop her research line on ‘diversity in cardiometabolic diseases’ within the Erasmus MC.

Congratulations Mariëtte!

Read more about the laureates of the Vidi grants on the website of NWO: Vidi 2024 | NWO