Genetic Medicines to Treat Cardiovascular Disease

About This Grant

Abstract Support is requested for a Keystone Symposia conference entitled Genetic Medicines to Treat Cardiovascular Disease, organized by Drs. Rick Dewey, Litsa G. Kranias and James S. Ware, with scientific programming input from Keystone Symposia. The meeting will take place Jan 25–28, 2027 at Keystone Resort in Keystone, Colorado, United States. Genetic medicines are paving the way for groundbreaking treatments in cardiovascular diseases (CVD). With advancements in gene therapy, RNA-based therapies, stem cell research, and gene editing, a growing number of clinical trials are underway. This Keystone Symposia meeting on Genetic Medicines to Treat Cardiovascular Disease will bring together diverse groups of basic scientists, clinicians, and industry professionals to foster meaningful discussions of the exciting opportunities emerging from industry-academia collaborations and partnerships. The sessions will explore cutting-edge advancements in identifying new therapeutic targets, translational research and clinical studies aimed at treating CVD. Topics will include breakthroughs in genetic therapies, as well as challenges related to delivery methods, efficacy, safety and cardiac tissue modeling to better understand disease phenotypes. Additionally, the program will feature panel discussions focused on the steps leading from basic discovery to translation, commercialization, FDA approval, and navigating the venture capital landscape. Other key topics will include long-term and off-target effects of therapies, ethical and regulatory considerations, lessons from preclinical and clinical trials, and professional development challenges for early-career researchers. The sessions will highlight latest scientific discoveries but also will explore their translational impacts and emerging challenges, especially in relation to pre-clinical and clinical trial design and the integration of AI technologies to advance genetic medicines. To achieve this, the conference brings together basic researchers, clinicians and industry partners demonstrating the crucial role that interdisciplinary collaborations play in driving growth in this area. Further, the meeting will be held concurrently with our successful joint Keystone Symposia conferences on Precision Genome Engineering and Nucleic Acid Delivery. By placing these three distinct, but related, meetings at the same venue attendees will have access to a broader cross section of talks and attendees that span the scope of genetic medicine research.