CARDIOGEX (HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-DISEASE-11) collaboration oportunity

This proposal provides a complex approach to fill the gap in sex- and gender-specific research on cardiovascular diseases, specifically stroke and myocardial infarction (MI) , and to translate the knowledge generated into informed risk models available to clinicians that will improve prevention, early detection, treatment, and recommendations. To achieve this, the project will implement a coordinated research strategy combining large-scale data integration with new prospective recruitment. The first component will exploit already existing resources by harmonising and meta-analysing data from major international cohorts. In parallel, a new multicenter cohort will be recruited across European partners to capture the gender dimension, which is currently underrepresented in these cohorts. This cohort will include cis and transgender women and men, and will systematically collect variables that are currently missing from existing datasets, such as gender identity and gender-affirming hormone treatments. Recruitment will be accompanied by a standardised clinical and biological assessment, including blood biomarkers, physical, lifestyle and psychosocial questionnaires, and health records. In addition, the new cohort will undergo expanded multi-omics characterisation to map pathways and mechanisms associated with sex and gender in cardiovascular disease. 

Integrated analytical pipelines will combine all data sources to identify determinants, risk factors, and biological pathways that differentiate cis and trans women and men with respect to MI and stroke. Statistical modelling, machine learning, and causal inference approaches will be used to generate stratified risk prediction models. These models will be implemented into a clinical decision-support tool, developed in collaboration with clinicians, ensuring usability during consultations. The software will provide personalised risk estimates and evidence-based recommendations, enabling health professionals to improve prevention, early detection and treatment in an equitable and sex- and gender-sensitive manner. 

Main project outputs 

• Recruitment of a new cohort to include cis and trans men and women.

• Identification of genes, proteins, metabolites and pathways that differ between cis and trans women and men and are associated with risk of developing MI or stroke. 

• Definition of sex- and gender-related differences in cardiovascular phenotypes, including tests (TTE, ECG, blood pressure) and anthropometric measures. 

• Comprehensive list of risk factors that affect cis and trans women and men differently, covering biological, behavioral and sociocultural determinants. 

• Quantification of psychological burden and psychosocial determinants in cardiovascular risk across populations. 

• Development of predictive risk models that incorporate sex- and gender-specific factors, suitable for clinical use and integrated into decision-support software to estimate individual cardiovascular risk. 

• Clinical guidelines for healthcare professionals (diagnostic tests and assessments required to feed the risk models and support adequate prevention, detection and management). 

• Population-specific recommendations and communication campaigns, developed in collaboration with gender and sex-specific organizations, hospitals and patient groups.

• Sustained collaboration with other European projects to align methodologies, share data and maximise collective impact.

Required stakeholders

1.      Hospitals and clinical centers

Expertise required: CVD expertise, clinical study development.

Roles:

• Cohort definition and recruitment

• Ethics and legal aspects

• Test performance (blood tests, physical measurements, questionnaire delivering)

• Clinical validation of risk models

2.      Biomedical research centers or companies

Expertise: CVD expertise, clinical study development, omics experiments and analysis

Roles:

• Definition and evaluation of the new cohort

• Expertise in currently available cohort data

• Multi-omics research and cell biology, functional validation of results

• Bioinformatics and biostatistics

3.      IT companies

Expertise required: web development, clinical software

Roles:

• Translate risk models into informed software usable by healthcare professionals

**4.      SSH institutions (**Policy regulators and social organizations )

Expertise required: gender studies, women’s health, dissemination campaigns

Roles:

• Determination of risk factors for trans people

• Cohort recruitment

• Dissemination strategy

IDENER’s role in the project

• Statistical framework, bioinformatics

• Risk models development, explainable AI.

• Establish recommendations for the general population and guidelines for clinicians

• Project management