Award for genetic research into pulmonary vascular diseases

Vasile Foris from the Division of Respiratory Medicine was awarded an ATS Abstract Scholarship at the annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) in Orlando, Florida. The award is presented by the ATS Assembly on Pulmonary Circulation for scientific work of exceptional quality in the field of pulmonary vascular research.

Since 2024, Vasile Foris has been conducting research at Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, within the Channing Division of Network Medicine. There, he is investigating the genetic and molecular basis of diseases affecting the pulmonary circulation and is working with international research teams to develop new approaches to precision medicine.

The award recognised his paper ‘Genetic Determinants of Pulmonary Artery Enlargement in Over 50,000 Subjects With and Without COPD’. The study analysed genetic data from more than 50,000 individuals, making it the largest genetic study to date on the structure of pulmonary vessels worldwide. The findings provide new insights into the biological mechanisms that influence the structure of the pulmonary vessels. The work thus contributes to a better understanding of the aetiology of pulmonary vascular diseases and could, in the long term, open up new avenues for diagnosis and treatment.

“The award underscores the international visibility of Graz-based research in the field of genetics and multiomics relating to pulmonary vascular diseases. Modern genomic and multi-omic technologies open up new possibilities for better understanding disease mechanisms and, in the long term, developing more precise diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. At the same time, it demonstrates the great value of international research collaborations for scientific progress and the further development of precision medicine,” explains Vasile Foris.

The research was funded by a research grant from the Austrian Society of Pneumology (ÖGP), a Max Kade Fellowship and a TOPMed Fellowship. This funding enabled the research stay at Harvard Medical School and collaboration with leading international centres for genetic and translational lung research.

The Medical University of Graz extends its warmest congratulations on this success!