Professor Nadia Rosenthal, Head of EMBL Monterotondo, which is located near Rome, Italy, will lead the research. Rosenthal has previously shown that when a muscle is injured, stem cells can help the tissue rebuild. This team of researchers will build on her findings to develop and study human cells with an enhanced potential for cardiac regeneration.

In addition to Rosenthal, the research team includes Giulio Cossu of the San Raffaele Biomedical Park in Rome, Italy. He recently discovered a multipotent cell -- a cell which can give rise to a wide range of other types of cells -- which has been successfully used in cell-based therapies.

German scientists Stefanie Dimmeler and Andreas Zeiher of Goethe University, Frankfurt, will also participate in the research. They have pioneered human trials with progenitor cells that can produce specialized cells to replace those that have died, which may be a key to determining how heart muscle repairs itself.

The European teeam will collaborate closely with American researchers at the Center for Cardiovascular Development, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. The Americans are Michael Schneider, who isolated a rare and unanticipated population of adult cardiac progenitor cells, and Bob Schwartz, recognized for advances in the understanding of cardiac gene expression.

Although many of these scientists already collaborate in pairs, Rosenthal emphasizes that "as a team, we will be able to move much faster towards applying our collective understanding of adult progenitor cell biology to effective human cardiac repair."

The five-year grant is from the Fondation Leducq, a non-profit foundation committed to improving health through international efforts to combat cardiovascular disease. This project is one of only four applications funded through the foundation's Transatlantic Network of Excellence, specifically intended to bridge the sciences in cardiovascular research between Europe and the United States.