PhD Aorta Plan Personalized therapy for patients with aortic diseases

Patients over 65 with aortic aneurysm (AA) or aortic dissection (AD) often have comorbidities, increasing surgical risks. Precise information on treatment risks and benefits is crucial. The Aorta PLAN project uses AI to provide personalized, evidence-based predictions for outcomes after endovascular treatment (EVAR) for abdominal AA and type B dissections. Two PhD students will focus on this, one using advanced image analysis, clinical data, and wearables.

The project these PhD students will work on is called Personalized therapy for patients with Aortic disease (Aorta PLAN). The Department of Vascular Surgery at Amsterdam UMC (location AMC is currently recruiting a PhD student to pursue their four year doctorate in our lab for the project Aorta-PLAN.

The objectives of the project are:

• To identify predictive parameters of post-EVAR sac growth or shrinkage by studying omics and clinical data and compare with AAA growth before EVAR
• To identify predictive parameters of Aortic dissection progression by omics, and clinical data.

In your research you will be closely collaborating with one other doctoral candidate who will be working on prognostic experimental research and with a number of researchers working on the VASCUL-AID project.

As an -Omics researcher in the Aorta PLAN project, your primary tasks will involve conducting and analyzing various omics analyses. You will perform proteomics studies in the oncoproteomics laboratory and genomics work in the Genomics Core lab.

• Your responsibilities will include predicting abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) sac changes using (phospho)proteomics and transcriptomics, and identifying biomarkers in patients with type B dissections through omics studies. You will investigate the relationship between plasma proteomics and whole transcriptome analysis (RNA-sequencing), tracking changes during follow-up using samples from our biobank with matched imaging data.
• To validate plasma proteomics findings, you will collect aortic tissue from patients undergoing open repair after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) due to conversion and isolate smooth muscle cells (SMC). Transcriptomics and proteomics will be conducted on these samples and on available tissues from open repairs of dissections. You will correlate these findings with extensive proteomics, genomics, and transcriptomics data from our biobank samples. Further validation will be done during in vitro experiments in the laboratory, using techniques such as Western blot, qPCR, siRNA mediated knock down and functional testing.
• Key responsibilities include performing omics analyses in the lab, which will be integrated into machine learning algorithms to predict AAA sac dynamics and the progression of type B dissections.
• Next is that you will help in the prospective biobank and study coordination for the samples collection.

The vascular laboratory is part of the Department of Physiology in collaboration with the Department of Medical Biochemistry, both integrated within the Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, a research institute focused on developing knowledge-based treatment strategies to prevent and cure cardiovascular diseases. Conducting proof of concept experiments in the lab with patient derived cells is part of the omics validation.

Associate Prof. Dr. Kak Khee Yeung is the project leader and will also be your supervisor. The translational vascular surgery research group offers a resourceful and stimulating scientific environment. Your other supervisor will be Associate Prof. Dr. Vivian de Waard, she is specialized in aortic biology. In the lab you will be closely working with the lab technicians Albert van Wijk and Myrthe Hoogeland. The other vascular surgeons involved in the VASCUL-AID project are Prof. Dr. Ron Balm, Prof. Dr. Jan Blankensteijn, Dr. Vincent Jongkind and technical physician Stefan Smorenburg. You will find yourself in a resourceful and stimulating scientific environment. We are an energetic and enthusiastic team of approximately 16-20 PhD students and two postdocs.

At Amsterdam UMC we see more than 300 aortic aneurysms every year. We are also equipped with a hybrid endovascular operating room.