What is the role of the Committee?
Along with my Co-Chair, Piotr Buszman, and our Committee members, we aim to promote and facilitate research within the EAPCI community. EAPCI is, fundamentally, a scientific association aiming to share scientific developments within the community as well as to develop EAPCI-led research.
How does the Committee work with the other EAPCI Committees?
A strong collaboration with the EAPCI Board and Committees is pivotal for the success of the Committee. In order to understand the unmet needs of EAPCI members, all Committees are invited to contribute to our call for proposals; however, in particular, the EAPCI National Cardiac Societies Committee provides key insights into the entire community.
What are the key projects for your term?
We have 2 key objectives:
1) To promote calls for research proposals from EAPCI members, EAPCI Committees, and EAPCI Board members, and to identify areas of scientific interest and unmet clinical need in order to initiate at least one European EAPCI-led registry.
2) We are working to attract competitive research funding (EU or EU member states' institutions) to EAPCI. We aim to demonstrate, as a scientific association, that we are able to target non-industry-related funding and finalise at least one application within the upcoming term.
The EAPCI Research Initiatives & Innovation Committee launched a call for research proposals in early February 2025, and the deadline for submissions was mid-March. The scope of this research proposal call was primarily for registry-based prospective or retrospective observational projects in order to develop deliverable projects within the budget and timeframe available. We received 57 proposals on a diverse range of topics, including geographical disparities, coronary physiology and percutaneous coronary intervention techniques, ischaemia with no obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) and myocardial infarction with no obstructive CAD; further topics were transcatheter aortic valve implantation and structural heart disease, prevention, pulmonary embolism, and artificial intelligence. The proposals have undergone evaluation by the members of the EAPCI Research Initiatives & Innovation Committee based on their originality and feasibility. These evaluations will then lead to shortlisting of the projects and further discussion within the EAPCI Board.
Beyond the research call, we have received three spontaneous proposals for surveys. One of these surveys on the “Current use of intracoronary imaging in interventional practice” has already been launched, and we have received nearly 150 responses. The results are currently being analysed, and we are looking forward to understanding the European approach to intracoronary imaging in clinical practice.
How can EAPCI members become involved in the work of the Committee?
As participating members in EAPCI, surveys allow us to understand the current clinical practice and needs of the wider community. Members are also encouraged to contribute to the call for research proposals and to highlight calls for research funding with which EAPCI could potentially be involved. In addition, EAPCI members are welcome to propose surveys to the Committee.
