Investigators
- Prof Jonathan Carapetis | ARC Biobank Lead | The Kids Research Institute Australia
- Christine Everest | ARC Biobank | The Kids Research Institute Australia
- Jessica Hillas | ARC Biobank | The Kids Research Institute Australia
- Christopher Gorman | ARC Biobank | The Kids Research Institute Australia
- Dr Timothy Barnett | ARC Biomarker Discovery and Validation | The Kids Research Institute Australia
- Prof Asha Bowen | ARF Diagnostic Core | The Kids Research Institute Australia
External collaborators
The ARC Network is comprised of various global collaboration teams, coordinated by the ARC Clinical Coordinating Center (housed at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital) led by Prof Andrea Beaton:
- ARC Biobank
- ARC Recruitment Sites
- ARC Echocardiography Core
- ARC ARF Diagnostic Core
- ARC Biomarker Discovery and Validation
- ARC Scientific Oversight Committee
- ARC Network and Clinical Coordinating Center
Collaborator institutions:
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
- Baylor College of Medicine Children's Foundation Malawi
- The Children's Hospital & the Institute of Child Health, Lamore
- Menzies School of Health Research
- Guido Valadares National Hospital
- Uganda Heart Institute
- Ochsner Hospital for Children
- Children's National (US)
- Texas Children's Hospital
- Imperial College London
- University of Auckland
- Sanquin
- Biotome
- University of British Columbia
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences
- University of Melbourne
- University of Cape Town
- Hudson Institute of Medical Research
- Center for Disease Control (US)
Funder:
Leducq Foundation
ARC
Over 55 million people are currently living with an acquired heart disease known as rheumatic heart disease (RHD). RHD begins with a superficial bacterial infection, strep A, that sometimes causes an immune system overreaction. This immune system overreaction, acute rheumatic fever (ARF) damages the heart valves and ultimately leads to RHD.
One major barrier to RHD prevention globally is that there is no single diagnostic test for ARF. Instead, clinicians must use a series of clinical, laboratory, and imaging data to predict if a child has ARF. In many cases, these component tests are not available in places where RHD is most common. Improving ARF diagnosis represents a significant opportunity to improve RHD outcomes globally.
ARC is a global network of collaborators committed to reducing the burden of RHD in our lifetime. ARC will discover and validate diagnostic biomarker(s) fit for purpose in RHD-endemic populations around the world. Further, discoveries of this network will ensure higher quality epidemiological surveillance, inform Strep A vaccines safety trials, and help innovate new strategies for ARF prevention and treatment.
Together, in 5-years ARC seeks to:
- Modernize the diagnosis of ARF
- Improve the global understanding of ARF pathogenesis
- Establish a robust platform for future ARF research
Find out more about the ARC Diagnostic Network here.