Funder: International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation
Due Dates (Anticipated): September 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: Two grants of up to $40,000 USD each for one year
Summary: Supports molecular diagnostics research to guide immunosuppression and improve long-term outcomes in adult heart transplantation.
Key Information: One award supports research in a US laboratory and one supports research outside the US; ISHLT membership is required.
Description
The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), with support from CareDx, funds research advancing precision medicine in adult heart transplantation. The program emphasizes donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) and gene expression profiling (GEP), particularly their combined use to optimize immunosuppression management and improve outcomes beyond the first three years after transplantation.
Priorities include biomarker-guided immunosuppression minimization and identifying patients who can safely tolerate reduced immunosuppressive exposure. Research may examine relationships between molecular test results and malignancy, advanced chronic kidney disease, or cardiac allograft vasculopathy. The program also supports studies of molecular testing more than three to five years after transplantation and surveillance strategies that improve long-term graft health and patient outcomes.
