The European Research Council (ERC) has announced the winners of the second round of the 2024 Proof of Concept grants: among them, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele's Professor Giulio Cossu, group leader of the Cell therapy for myopathies Unit at the Institute of Experimental Neurology (INSPE) of IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele.

Each grantee will receive €150000 for a period of 18 months. Proof of Concept funding is reserved for researchers who have previously been funded by the ERC and who wish to explore the commercial or social potential of their research. Professor Cossu has already been awarded with San Raffaele two Advanced Grants in 2008 and 2019. In addition, he has already won another Proof of Concept in 2023: in both of his PoCs, Professor Cossu collaborated with Day One, a firm of experts in transforming research into products capable of generating economic and social impact.

Professor Cossu's Proof of Concept grant is in addition to the three Consolidator grants and three Starting grants  won by San Raffaele for the year 2024, bringing to 35 the number of ERC grants awarded since 2007, the year the European programme was launched. This extraordinary achievement not only underlines the quality and originality of the research carried out but also demonstrates the ability to excel in a highly competitive international context. ERC funding, in fact, recognises and rewards bold and innovative ideas, capable of pushing the boundaries of scientific knowledge, as well as consolidating our institute's role as a reference point for cutting-edge research. These successes also testify to the importance of investing in talent and creativity, key elements in tackling the most complex global challenges.

The “UniCardioMab” project

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the second most common cause of heart failure, currently treated with drugs that delay progress towards heart transplantation. There are currently many attempts to treat DCM with stem cells or their extracellular vesicles or viral vectors: none have reached efficacy so far. Thanks to a previous ERC grant professor Cossu and his team created immortal, universal donor cells that do not activate an immune response. A simple extension of this strategy is problematic since the existence of resident cardiac stem cells is controversial and cell therapy for the heart has so far failed. To address this problem, they will produce immortal, immune-privileged cells from the heart and will convert them to heart cells called cardiocytes, by in vitro expression of cardiac transcription factors. Since conversion takes about two weeks, researchers will deliver them directly into the heart by cardiac catheterization so they would home and differentiate in vivo in the areas of heart damage.  Prof Cossu is in the unique position to test feasibility of this project for future translation into a novel clinical protocol. This work not only holds promise for advancing therapies for DCM but also exemplifies the transformative potential of cutting-edge research in addressing unmet medical needs.

Professor Cossu states:

“I was very happy to learn about the award and grateful to the European Commission, and the ERC in particular, since much of my work has been supported by them through several decades. The special relevance of this specific award relies on the possibility of treating the dilated cardiomyopathy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, my field of research since a long time, but also to expand outside muscular dystrophy into the area of dilated cardiomyopathies, a disease that affects thousands of patients and would benefit of a novel therapy like the one here proposed.”

Giulio Cossu is Professor of Regenerative Medicine at the University of Manchester and Group Leader at IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele.  He was previously Professor at University College London (UCL), Director of the Division of Regenerative Medicine at San Raffaele, Professor of Histology at the University of Milan and Rome. Cossu is recognized for his contributions to skeletal muscle development and his pioneering work in regenerative medicine using stem cells to treat muscular dystrophy.