In my research, I unravel the biological mechanisms behind atherosclerosis. I employ a combination of bulk and single-cell transcriptomics, epigenetics, and bioinformatics, and integrate these approaches with clinical datasets and in vitro experiments.

My work leverages the largest biobank of well-characterized atherosclerotic plaques from over 4,000 patients, known as the Athero-Express study. We generate a variety of complex “-omics” datasets, which include genotyping, transcriptomics (bulk, single-cell, and spatially resolved), DNA methylation (both bulk and single-cell), and proteomics. These datasets are integrated with histological and clinical data to decode the mechanisms of plaque pathogenesis. This integration enables us to pinpoint specific processes that lead to severe manifestations of atherosclerotic disease, such as stroke and myocardial infarction. Alongside computational tools, we utilize primary in vitro model systems derived from vascular and plaque cells, as well as molecular biology techniques, for validation and mechanistic studies."