The grant from the Leducq Foundation International Networks of Excellence Program will be distributed among 10 lead researchers over 5 years starting in January 2026. Leducq networks are made up of both established and early-career researchers, such as Bidone, with complementary expertise and resources to address common problems in cardiovascular disease and stroke. Funding for each researcher is subject to change from year to year, but Bidone estimates her team will receive about $500,000 total.“I’m truly excited about the opportunity to collaborate with a team of experts in vasculogenesis from across continents,” Bidone said, referring to the team’s deep knowledge in how the body builds its first blood vessels. “It has been inspiring to connect with diverse researchers, learn about their approaches, and understand how these methods link to therapeutic development. This award highlights how my work in modeling and protein simulations contributes within a broader context, where fundamental cell biology and translational clinical impact come together.”
Her network’s proposal, called Arteriogenesis in Translation (ARTIST), will combine several techniques from different labs to uncover how blood vessels grow in response to blood flow—and why this process fails in PAD. By targeting key signaling pathways and using AI tools to guide therapies, ARTIST aims to develop new treatments that safely and effectively restore blood flow in patients.
Bidone’s team will use detailed computer simulations to study how certain proteins on the surface of blood vessel cells react when blood flow increases. These proteins help the cells sense the force of the flowing blood. By watching how the proteins change shape and move in response to this force, Bidone’s work will help scientists design better experiments and, down the road, new treatments.
“The help I’ve received from the University of Utah—along with my ongoing National Institute of Health and National Science Foundation funding in adhesion biomechanics—has been instrumental in shaping my contribution to this proposal and the success of the award. I’m deeply grateful for that support,” Bidone said.
In the award announcement, Leducq Foundation Council Director David Tancredi wrote that ARTIST was one of three proposals selected in an extremely competitive field this year—“an indication of the foundation’s enthusiasm for your proposal, and confidence that the collaborative work of the network will significantly improve our knowledge and treatment of cardiovascular disease.”
Bidone is currently hiring postdoctoral researchers with a background in molecular modeling and simulations, including all-atom molecular dynamics and coarse-graining methods. Interested candidates should contact her for further information.
The full ARTIST network spans two continents and seven higher education institutes:
- Christiana Ruhrberg and Martina Rudnicki, University College London
- Brian Annex, Augusta University
- Tamara Bidone, University of Utah
- Christopher Chen, Boston University
- Boris Kholodenko and Aleksey Rukhlenko, University College Dublin
- Martin Schwartz and Michael Simons, Yale University
- Ellie Tzima, University of Oxford