GCAT joins the CORDELIA consortium to create the largest cardiovascular genetic study in southern Europe
CORDELIA Consortium Meeting in Barcelona 2024
The participation of the GCAT|Genomes For Life cohort in the CORDELIA consortium represents a strategic step to enhance and expand the impact of population research on the IGTP campus. This collaboration is part of the transversal CORE program, aimed at fostering innovative and translational research, implementing new knowledge in clinical practice, and improving population health.
CORDELIA, created with the support of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, is the largest consortium in southern Europe dedicated to determining the risk of cardiovascular diseases through whole genome analysis. With a budget of nearly €5 million (Precision Personalised Medicine Research from the Strategic Health Action 2023), the project began in early 2023. GCAT joined the consortium that same year, strengthening its commitment to cardiovascular genetic research.
The consortium currently includes 35 cohorts across the Iberian Peninsula, with 196,000 participants and 115,000 DNA samples, of which 20,000 belong to GCAT. These data include a follow-up period of at least 10 years prior to the onset of coronary diseases and involve 27 institutions from 14 autonomous communities.
The study is coordinated by the team of Dr Jaume Marrugat, senior researcher at IMIM-Hospital del Mar, and coordinator of REGICOR and CIBERCV. Its objective is to understand the underlying causes of cardiovascular diseases by investigating the influence of lifestyle, molecular mechanisms, genetic and environmental factors. The study aspires to identify more effective methods for disease risk prediction and prevention, reduce the number of cases, and design appropriate treatment measures.
At GCAT, the project is led by researchers Rafael de Cid, Natalia Blay, and Jordi Barretina. Dr de Cid, as the principal investigator and a member of the CORDELIA executive committee, participated in the consortium's second meeting, held in Barcelona on 14 and 15 November. During the meeting, the External Scientific Advisory Board (ESAB) was introduced, and discussions were held on data collection protocols and study analysis.
CORDELIA will facilitate coordination between national cohorts and foster collaboration with various research groups, particularly those linked to primary care. This will enable a multidisciplinary approach to studying cardiovascular diseases, optimise resources, and train professionals in biomedical research. GCAT's incorporation into the consortium marks a strategic move to enhance the scope of cardiovascular genetic research, leveraging its large population cohort and expertise in genomic health studies, further strengthening IGTP's position as a leading centre in genomic and public health research.