Prof. Padler-Karavani's Wins ERC Proof of Concept Grant to Decode the Link Between Diet and Heart Disease

We would like to congratulate Prof. Vered Padler-Karavani for winning the prestigious ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) grant for the development of groundbreaking diagnostic kits as biomarkers of cardiovascular disease. Prof. Padler-Karavani’s work focuses on the intersection between diet and the immune system, and its effects on our health through an understanding of the role of sugar chains, or glycans, in immunology and health.

By deciphering the 'glycan-code' and understanding its cross-talk with our immune system, Prof. Padler-Karavani’s research has been able to offer a potential explanation for why high consumption of meat and dairy products is linked to the development of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and other pathologies. Her studies show how our immune system recognizes a certain glycan present in red meat and dairy products we consume as foreign, developing an immune response against it, which could have long-term detrimental effects on our health.

The immune response against glycans could potentially correlate with the risk of developing various diseases and offers a promising opportunity to serve as an important and accessible biomarker. Prof. Padler-Karavani’s vision is to develop, with the support of the ERC PoC grant, diagnostic kits that measure this immune response using simple blood tests, enabling an easy assessment of the risk of developing future life-threatening illnesses and promoting disease prevention through personalized lifestyle and dietary habit recommendations