A strong foundation has been laid, but we also believe that so much more impact can be achieved by the Dutch cardiovascular community by designing consortia around health, social and economic impact. To realise our ambitions, we will invest in creating an excellent and sustainable environment for cardiovascular breakthroughs, working on five priorities:
Research policy designed to maximise impact
Early recognition of cardiovascular disease is the biggest challenge. Helping patients as early as possible will lower the disease burden and provides big improvements to quality of life. For early recognition we need excellent science. Dutch cardiovascular researchers rank among the best in the world. Existing public-private consortia have already proven to be successful in the last decades.
Fast tracks from idea to company
Where research is often designed around scientific potential, the Dutch CardioVascular Alliance (DCVA) will organise special attention on valorisation. Doing so, consortia can develop more new products, technologies and methods that help lower cardiovascular disease burden and they can realise them faster. The alliance offers inspiration, expertise and funding through valorisation fast tracks from idea to company.
Fast tracks from lab to patient
Similar to the valorisation approach, support is needed to implement new solutions in daily practice at hospitals and other health care institutions. To find treatment that is less intrusive or stressful and helps lowering health care costs, new methods and instruments are needed to help find signs of disease and measure progress. Caregivers have to be trained working with them safely. Planning and organising this earlier and better helps creating fast tracks in this domain too. Expertise and collaboration are key to develop and implement novel preventive and other therapies for cardiovascular disease.
Career perspectives for research talents
To secure continuity in high quality and innovative research, the Dutch CardioVascular Alliance (DCVA) invests in identifying and nurturing the most talented cardiovascular researchers, which will become the leaders of future national and international research consortia, or have a strategic position in a non-academic sector.
Improve data infrastructure
The Dutch CardioVascular Alliance (DCVA) will build a research infrastructure that facilitates clinical and translational research to improve healthcare, building on the work of the Durrer Center of the Netherlands Heart Institute. Within this theme, three activities are prioritised: building a community of data donors, developing a clinical trial network and launching a national biobank for heart tissue.