Support is requested for a Keystone Symposia meeting entitled RNA-Based Approaches in Cardiovascular Disease, organized by Drs. Thomas Thum and Roger J. Hajjar. The meeting will be held in Keystone, Colorado from March 26-30, 2017. Cardiac diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. RNA-based mechanisms and therapeutic approaches are emerging fields in cardiovascular science. This meeting will present and discuss latest developments using both coding RNA and noncoding RNA- (such as microRNAs, long noncoding RNAs and circular RNAs) based approaches to better understand and develop new therapeutic strategies for cardiac diseases. Attendees will benefit from workshops, specific sessions and industrial perspectives covering everything from basic science to clinical translation employing RNA therapeutics in cardiovascular medicine. Opportunities for interdisciplinary interactions will be significantly enhanced by the concurrent meeting on Molecular Mechanisms of Heart Development, which will share a keynote address and two plenary sessions with this meeting. Relevance to NHLBI: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Among the NHLBI?s strategic mission is the goal to advance our knowledge of CVD while identifying new potential targets. Novel treatments are being formulated based on a better understanding of the signaling pathways involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Targeting genes to the heart through microRNA and RNA based deliveries have the potential to alter our approach to patients with cardiovascular diseases. This meeting will bring together scientists from a wide array of avenues. Through this combination of investigators with multidisciplinary backgrounds, diverse scientific perspectives will be brought into focus on cardiovascular diseases.
Cardiovascular diseases continue to lead in mortality and morbidity in Europe and the US. Despite advances in prevention, there are still critical needs in better diagnosis and treatment for various forms of cardiovascular diseases. One of the new areas of investigation in cardiovascular diseases is emerging from RNA based translational research. The Keystone Symposia meeting on RNA-Based Approaches in Cardiovascular Disease will bring together investigators from various fields of research who will provide up to date information about diagnostic and therapeutic RNA-based approaches in cardiovascular diseases.
