 Measuring What Holds Life TogetherMeasuring Strength Where It Matters Most At the Center for Cardiovascular Genetics and Gene Diagnostics of the Swiss Foundation for People with Rare Diseases in Schlieren-Zurich, Switzerland, research is driven by equal parts scientific rigor and human urgency. Research Associate Dr. Janine Meienberg and Biomedical Analyst Valeria Turco work at the intersection of diagnostics and discovery, focusing on rare inherited connective tissue disorders that weaken the aorta and, in the most severe cases, put lives at constant risk. Their work centers on conditions such as vascular Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (vEDS) and Marfan syndrome (MFS), diseases that often go undetected until a catastrophic vascular event occurs. What motivates them isn’t only biology, it’s the people behind the mutations. One project, they recall, began as a request from a patient who simply wanted to help save their family’s lives. That moment crystallized the lab’s mission: to translate genetic insight into meaningful, testable therapies. Turning Complex Genetics into Clear Measurements For those unfamiliar with this field, Janine and Valeria describe their work in refreshingly tangible terms. Using murine models, they recover five aortic segments from each animal and measure the maximum force the tissue can withstand before rupture. This allows them to directly compare healthy versus diseased tissue, as well as treated versus untreated samples at the level of individual vessels. This approach became especially powerful after a suitable mouse model for vEDS was identified. Originally developed almost by accident in another research group, the model ultimately proved too closely to mimic human disease. With it, Janine and Valeria could finally quantify something clinicians care deeply about but rarely get to see aortic integrity itself. To do this, the team relies on three DMT Tissue Puller systems, which enable them to test small, delicate aortic samples in liquid while achieving highly reproducible results.
“These were not the answers we expected,” Janine explains, “but they were the answers the data gave us.” From the Bench to the Bigger Picture The broader goal of this research is clear: expand therapeutic options for patients with inherited aortic diseases, especially through drug repurposing. By identifying existing, market-approved drugs that can increase aortic rupture force, the path from bench to bedside could be dramatically shortened. Looking ahead five to ten years, Janine and Valeria hope to:
Their work sits at a rare and valuable crossroads where diagnostics inform research and research feeds directly back into diagnostics. Overcoming the Hard Parts Progress didn’t come easily. One of the biggest early challenges was finding an objective, reliable readout system that could truly distinguish between healthy and diseased aortas. Another was navigating the bureaucratic complexity of animal study approvals, a reality familiar to many researchers. The breakthrough came with the identification of the tissue puller approach as the right solution. “The system gave us a clear, quantitative answer,” Valeria says. “Once we had that, everything else could move forward.”
For Janine and Valeria, the value isn’t just convenience, it’s confidence in the data.
Pride, Perseverance and Advice for the Next Generation What they’re most proud of isn’t a single publication or dataset, but the fact that their work meaningfully contributes to a small but critically important patient population one that often lacks both visibility and treatment options. Their advice to aspiring researchers is simple, honest and hard-earned:
In a field defined by fragile tissues and high stakes, Dr. Janine Meienberg and Valeria Turco are building something resilient: a framework for understanding, measuring and ultimately strengthening the vessels that matter most. Comments are closed.
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