CVAC
CV and COPD Risk Scores
CVAC is an R&D programme seeking medical science advancements for the early prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with existing lung diseases. The combination of CV and pulmonary risks could therefore constitute a “cardiopulmonary risk”, the calculation of which could help in clinical decision-making and future therapeutic advancements/interventions.
Summary
The baseline level of science that was known when the R&D programme commenced in 2021 included:
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CVD and more specifically ischemic heart disease (19.6 per 1,000 PY) were reported as a more frequent cause of death than COPD itself (15.5 per 1,000 PY) in patients with COPD
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A patient is 2 to 5 times more likely to develop CV disease if they have COPD vs the general population
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1.26-fold (95% CI, 1.0-1.6; P = .05) increased risk of stroke 1 to 49 days after exacerbation
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There are no validated and accurate risk score tools for the prediction of future cardiopulmonary events in patients with COPD. Existing tools are developed for risk of cardiac events OR risk of pulmonary events, these have not been combined to date
The advance in science that this programme will be measured against has been defined by the global working group on cardiopulmonary risk (consisting of 11 world leaders in cardiac and respiratory disease – Competent Professionals). The working group have laid out the researchable questions to address the cardiovascular sequelae of COPD in the published Lancet Respiratory Medicine article and the outputs of this programme will aim to address the three key themes listed by Competent Professionals:
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Measuring and predicting cardiopulmonary risk in COPD.
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Defining biological mechanisms driving increased cardiovascular risk in COPD.
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Intervening to reduce cardiovascular events in COPD.
OPRI’S CVAC research programme will address these scientific uncertainties through the following research questions:
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Is it possible to quantify and categorise levels of cardiopulmonary risk in patients with COPD, by developing and validating an agreed-upon data-driven algorithm that has clinical and prognostic relevance for cardiopulmonary risk?
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In those identified as having cardiopulmonary risk, does a new research platform enable new advancements in therapeutic approaches and interventions to be tested and enable further scientific advancements which changes disease trajectories?
As well as advancing scientific knowledge, there will be physical outputs from the programme by way of several publications and a combined package of medical algorithms that use advanced methodologies to extract insights from integrated data sources by applying new scientific knowledge developed as part of the R&D programme. The programme will aim to apply the new scientific knowledge into adherence support technologies that ultimately aim to advance adherence in patients with COPD.
CVAC Team and Steering Committee
Our CVAC programme is also supported and advised by a wider steering committee of competent professionals.
Dr Mohsen Sadatsafavi
Mohsen Sadatsafavi is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He leads the Respiratory Evaluation Sciences Program (RESP), which focuses on outcomes research for chronic respiratory diseases like asthma and COPD. His research interests include clinical prediction modeling, economic evaluation, and the use of health administrative databases to measure the burden of diseases. Dr. Sadatsafavi has a diverse educational background, having received his MD from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, an MHSc in Epidemiology from UBC, and a PhD in Health Outcomes Research from UBC. He has authored over 210 MEDLINE-indexed publications and has been involved in developing and validating prediction models, cost-effectiveness modeling of health technologies, and using health databases for research. His work is well-recognized, having received multiple salary awards from institutions such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. Dr. Sadatsafavi is also affiliated with the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, the Division of Respiratory Medicine, and the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation at UBC.
Dr Mohit Bhutani
Mohit Bhutani is a Professor in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine at the University of Alberta, located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is also the president-elect of the Canadian Thoracic Society. Dr. Bhutani specializes in the management of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and his research focuses on improving patient outcomes through better disease management and medication use. Dr. Bhutani has been involved in various studies, including research on asthma medication usage in Alberta, which found that despite rising asthma prevalence, the rate of medication dispensation has remained low. His work highlights the need for improved patient education and access to asthma educators to ensure proper medication use and disease management. For more detailed information, you can visit the University of Alberta's Division of Pulmonary Medicine webpage or the Folio article detailing his research on asthma rates and medication use in Alberta.
Prof Janwillem Kocks
Janwillem W.H. Kocks is a prominent figure in respiratory medicine, serving as a General Practitioner and Assistant Professor at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) in the Netherlands. He is also the Director of the General Practitioners Research Institute (GPRI) in Groningen and holds the position of Professor of Inhalation Medicine at the Observational and Pragmatic Research Institute (OPRI) in Singapore. Prof. Kocks completed his medical degree at the University of Groningen in 2004 and has since focused his research on respiratory conditions such as asthma and COPD. His work includes developing tools for better disease management and improving inhalation techniques and adherence to medication in respiratory patients. He has served as the Past President of the International Primary Care Respiratory Group (IPCRG), where he contributed significantly to global initiatives aimed at improving respiratory health through primary care.
Dr Chris Gale
Chris Gale is a Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Honorary Consultant Cardiologist, and Co-Director of the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics at the University of Leeds. He qualified in medicine at the London Hospital Medical College, earned a BSc (Hons) in Psychology, and completed a PhD in molecular biology at Leeds. His cardiology training was primarily at Leeds General Infirmary, where he became a NIHR Clinician Scientist and received an NIHR Clinical Trials Fellowship. He holds Master's degrees in Clinical Education and Biostatistics and Epidemiology, with clinical interests in general cardiology and chronic heart failure. Professor Gale’s research focuses on using observational and randomized data for population-based studies of cardiovascular care and outcomes. He leads a research group at the MRC Medical Bioinformatics Centre and has published over 160 research manuscripts in prominent journals. He is a member of the British Cardiovascular Society and the British Society for Echocardiography and holds fellowships from the Royal College of Physicians of London and the European Society of Cardiology. He has served on various committees and is the Deputy Editor of the European Heart Journal Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes.
Dr Alan Kaplan
Alan Kaplan is a Family Physician working in York Region, Ontario, Canada and the Chairperson of the Family Physician Airways Group of Canada (www.fpagc.com), the Past- Chairperson of the Respiratory Section of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and Senate member of the International Primary Care Respiratory Group. He co-chaired the Community Standards of COPD program for Health Quality Ontario. He is the medical director of the Pulmonary Rehabilitation program for the local health integration network.
Dr Eve Jessica Denton
Eve Jessica Denton is a specialist in Allergy, Asthma, and Clinical Immunology at Alfred Health in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She completed her M.B.B.S. with honors in 2008 and then pursued Basic Physician Training at the Alfred Hospital. She further specialized in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, training at both the Alfred and St. Vincent’s Hospitals in Melbourne, becoming a qualified Respiratory and Sleep Physician in 2016. Dr. Denton also holds a Masters of Public Health from Monash University, with a focus on clinical research, particularly lung cancer epidemiology. Her clinical interests cover a broad range of respiratory issues, including asthma, allergies, pulmonary hypertension, sleep disorders, lung transplants, and lung cancer. Additionally, she has expertise in diagnostic and therapeutic lung ultrasound and pleural procedures
Dr Job Van Boven
Job van Boven is an expert in health economics (e.g. cost-effectiveness, burden of disease) and real-world drug outcomes (e.g. (pharmaco)epidemiology, medication adherence, compliance, persistence), mainly applied to lung diseases (asthma, COPD, TB, lung cancer).
Dr Njira Lugogo
Njira Lugogo is a Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Michigan. She also serves as the Medical Director of the Michigan Clinical Research Unit and the statewide quality improvement initiative INHALE (Inspiring Health Advances in Lung Care). Dr. Lugogo's clinical focus is on asthma, especially severe asthma, and she runs a busy clinical practice dedicated to managing asthma of all severities. Dr. Lugogo completed her medical degree at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, followed by an Internal Medicine residency at Wake Forest University Medical Center, and a Pulmonary and Critical Care fellowship at Duke University. At Duke, she was promoted to Assistant Professor and served as the Medical Director of the Duke Asthma Allergy and Airways Center. Dr. Lugogo is involved in multiple asthma clinical trials and is the Principal Investigator of the Michigan site for the NHLBI PrecISE network, which focuses on precision medicine for severe and exacerbating asthma. Her research interests include developing biomarkers to risk-stratify patients and select therapies based on individual biology
Prof Nikos Papadopoulos
Nikos Papadopoulos joined the University of Manchester in 2014. He is also Professor of Allergy and Pediatric Allergy at the University of Athens, and Past President of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI, www.eaaci.org). His main research focus is the role of infections in respiratory (asthma, rhinitis), as well as food allergy, with extensive collaborations in the context of EU Projects, such as SynAir-G, CURE, EARIP, iFAAM, FAST and PreDicta. He has published more than 500 papers (h-index: >100), has received a number of international awards and is invited to speak at international scientific meetings some 30 times a year. He has served in committees of EAACI, GA2LEN, WAO, EFA and ARIA.
Prof Peter Smith
Pete Smith is a leading allergist in Australia. Pete commenced his medical studies at the University of Tasmania and went on to specialise in paediatrics in Adelaide, before completing his PhD in molecular immunology with Flinders University. He has worked as an allergy specialist at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, and was a senior lecturer at the Institute of Child Health, University College London. In 2002, Pete set up Queensland Allergy Services in Southport, on the Gold Coast. Here he provides patients the highest level of quality medical care in the diagnosis and treatment of allergies. Pete is an active member of the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology & Allergy, and a regular expert commentator in the media. He is a member of the World Allergy Organization, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, and the European Academy of Clinical Immunology & Allergy. He sits on several national and international advisory boards and is involved in medical education, frequently speaking at national and international meetings and conferences.
Prof Konstantinos Kostikas
Konstantinos Kostikas is Associate Professor of Respiratory Medicine and Head of the Respiratory Medicine Department of the University of Ioannina, Greece. He was trained at the University of Athens Medical School and the Royal Brompton Hospital, London, and has worked in academia and the pharmaceutical industry in global medical affairs roles. Dr. Kostikas is a member of the GOLD COPD Assembly. He has 221 publications in PubMed (h-index 37) and is the Editor in Chief of Pneumon Journal and a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, PLoS One, Diagnostics, and Frontiers in Medicine.