The INSPIRE Summer School 2025 offers an intensive and interactive 5-day programme on Cardiovascular Safety Pharmacology and Cardio-Oncology. Built as a multidisciplinary course, this training consists of theoretical lectures complemented by hands-on sessions in associated technologies. This course is a continuation of the EU-funded collaborative training network in safety pharmacology INSPIRE (www.inspire-safety-pharmacology.eu), which in the past three years has built a training programme benefiting from the academic, industrial, and clinical perspectives by exploring the latest technological capabilities to address emerging cardiovascular and cardio-oncology safety concerns.
The programme starts with a refresher on cardiovascular physiology and pathophysiology. Next, speakers from leading pharma companies will provide insight in the process of drug development and the importance of clinical safety. The regulatory landscape of drug development and safety evaluation will be elaborated, as well as a description of key methods implemented in Safety Pharmacology to identify adverse effects of drug candidates early on. A few case studies of failed drug candidates will be discussed as well. Further, clinical cases of drug-related cardiovascular complications presented by cardiologists will provide a wider perspective on the topic. More specifically, the discipline of cardio-oncology will be discussed in detail. With increasing survival rates of cancer patients, the long(er)-term effects of anticancer treatment (i.e. cardiac toxicity) are receiving more scrutiny. In this context, the programme will conclude with highlighting academic research to evaluate the detrimental effects of many anticancer drugs on endothelial cells. Endothelial cells are the inner lining of the vascular system and play a pivotal role in vascular physiology and pathophysiology. At the end of the programme, students will have gained a comprehensive view of the topic of cardiovascular (patho)physiology and how these mechanisms should be taken into account and screened for during drug development.
Programme summary
- DAY 1 | morning: Signal processing / data visualisation
- DAY 1 | afternoon: Introduction to drug development and safety pharmacology
- DAY 2 | morning: Cardiovascular safety pharmacology and case studies
- DAY 2 | afternoon: Refresher on cardiovascular disease pathophysiology
- DAY 3 | morning: Cardio-oncology (and case reports)
- DAY 3 | afternoon: Hands-on echocardiography / organ baths
- DAY 4 | morning: Endothelial cells (EC) in cardio-oncology
- DAY 4 | afternoon: hiPSC cells assays
- DAY 5: Workshop career development/strategic thinking/proposal writing
Target group
INSPIRE Summer School is addressed to master graduate students, PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and professionals in the field of Medicine, Pharmaceutical Sciences and other Life Sciences (including Bio-Medical Sciences and Bio-Engineering).
Campus
This summer school takes place at Stadscampus (Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerp) of the University of Antwerp. This campus is located in the city centre.
Micro-credentials and study credits (ECTS)
Successful completion of the summer school by attending all the lectures and participation in the oral examination can be awarded with 3 CREDITS according the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).
To include the credits in the curriculum at the home institution, participants need an agreement with the responsible person at the home institution.
A certificate will be awarded at the end of the programme. All certificates of completion are issued as a micro-credential.
Learning outcomes
- Understanding drug development and the challenge of evaluating drug safety and adverse events (i.e. safety pharmacology and pharmacovigilance)
- Refresher of key concepts in cardiovascular regulation and pathologies.
- Getting insights in current state-of-the-art methodologies and emerging challenges in cardiovascular safety pharmaoclogy evaluation; and adressing these topics from the perspective of pharma companies, regulatory agencies and patients.
- Providing inspiration and tools for active career development (i.e. drafting a career development plan).
- Devloping skills for effective dissemination of scientific results towards different audiences.