SUM - Medical University of Silesia in Katowice

Horizon 2020

In December 2013, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted "Horizon 2020" - the framework programme for research and innovation for 2014-2020 (The Framework programme for Research and Innovation).

Horizon 2020 is the European Union's programme for research and innovation, with a total seven-year budget of nearly EUR 80 billion. The programme is a tool for implementing the Innovation Union, a flagship initiative of the Europe 2020 growth strategy, aimed at increasing Europe's global competitiveness.

The programme is based on three pillars with specific themes:

Excellent Science.
Industrial Leadership:
- leading position in industries such as:
  - information and communication technologies,
  - nanotechnology,
  - advanced materials,
  - advanced production and processing technologies,
  - biotechnology,
  - space industry.
- access to finance,
- innovations in SMEs.
Societal Challenges:

health protection and demographic changes,agriculture, water resources and bioeconomy,
safe, clean and efficient energy,
transport,
climate, environment and natural resources,
social development,
freedom and security.

Horizon 2020 brings together all EU funding for research and innovation, combining three existing initiatives to finance the development of science in Europe:

7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7).
European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
Innovation Support Instruments of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP).

More than €2.8 billion of the program's resources have been allocated to financial instruments supporting research and innovation.

Horizon 2020 projects implemented at SUM:

Horizon 2020 projects implemented at SUM:
Implementation of personalized risk prediction and prevention of sudden cardiac death after myocardial infarction
(akronim PROFID)

Project implementation period: from 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2024.

The project manager at SUM: Radoslaw Lenarczyk, MD, Ph.D., Professor

Project information:

The aim of the project is to create a tool to support clinical decision-making (risk assessment) in order to predict the individual risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) and identify those patients after myocardial infarction who will benefit most from the implantation of a cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).

PROFID's ambition is to change the approach to preventing sudden cardiac death in patients after a heart attack by moving away from a one-size-fits-all solution to a personalized approach that uses new solutions and the latest scientific research results to achieve the best treatment results.

The first part of the project consists in creating, using advanced statistical models, a new individualized qualification system for ICD implantation based on the results of international databases covering patients after myocardial infarction. The second part of the PROFID project consists of two randomized trials - PROFID Reduced and PROFID Preserved - to confirm whether the qualification system for ICD implantation created in the first phases of the project is more favourable than the current indications. The project's ultimate goal is to create an effective tool to prevent most cases of sudden cardiac death after a heart attack.

Project partners:

LEIPZIG HEART INSTITUTE GMBH, Germany
ACADEMISCH MEDISCH CENTRUM BIJ DE UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM (AMC), the Nederlands.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER (UNIMAN), the United Kingdom.
CRI - THE CLINICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE GMBH (CRI), Germany.
UNIVERSITY OF YORK (UoY), the United Kingdom.
BARMER ERSATZKASSE (BARMER), Germany.
QS INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACION E INNOVACION SL (QS), Spain.
SOCIETE EUROPEENNE DE CARDIOLOGIE (ESC/SEC), France.
DEUTSCHE HERZSTIFTUNG EV (DHS), Germany.
CLINIQUE PASTEUR SA (CPT), France.
ASTON UNIVERSITY (ASTON U), the United Kingdom.
MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SILESIA IN KATOWICE (SUM), Poland.
AARHUS UNIVERSITET (AU), Denmark.
STOCKHOLMS LANS LANDSTING (SLL), Sweden.
THE HEALTH CORPORATION - RAMBAM (RAMBAM), Israel.
SEMMELWEIS EGYETEM (SEMMELWEIS), Hungary.
FAKULTNI NEMOCNICE OLOMOUC (FNOL), the Czech Republic.
UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS (UNIVLEEDS), the United Kingdom.
ISTITUTO AUXOLOGICO ITALIANO (AUXO), Italy.
UNIVERSITAET BAYREUTH (UBT), Germany.
AARHUS UNIVERSITETSHOSPITAL (AUH), Denmark.
INSTITUTO INVESTIGACION SANITARIA FUNDACION JIMENEZ DIAZ (IISFJD), Spain.

Unit implementing and coordinating the project in SUM and Poland:

Department of Congenital Cardiology and Electrotherapy, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, head: prof. dr hab. n. med. Zbigniew Kalarus, MD, Ph.D., Professor

Researchers in the coordinating unit:

Zbigniew Kalarus, MD, Ph.D., Professor
Radoslaw Lenarczyk, MD, Ph.D., Professor
Jacek Kowalczyk, MD, Ph.D.
Oskar Kowalski, MD, Ph.D., Assoc. Prof.

Horizon Europe

Horizon Europe (2021-2027) is the European Commission's program for research and innovation, which replaced Horizon 2020. In February 2021, the European Commission, chaired by Portugal, symbolically opened a new program with a budget of €95.5 billion.

Projects of the Horizon Europe program implemented at SUM:

A novel multi-functional elastin-like recombinant hydrogel for the prevention of scar tissue formation following a myocardial infarction
(akronim ELR SCAR)

Project implementation period: from 01/12/2022 to 30/11/2026.

The project manager at SUM: Grzegorz Bajor, MD, Ph.D., Professor

The ELR SCAR project aims to complete the pre-clinical validation of a new biomaterial - elastin-like hydrogel (ELR) - which is expected to prevent the formation of scar tissue in the heart after a myocardial infarction (MI), commonly referred to as a heart attack.

Project partners: