Ectopic calcification (EC) is a complex process which is highly accelerated in aging, in a wide number of rare hereditary diseases as well as in common acquired disorders such as diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney and rheumatic diseases. Importantly, in all these conditions EC is directly associated to their morbidity and mortality. While this highlights the promise of EC as a hitherto overlooked target for diagnosis, risk stratification with preventive intervention and treatment, a comprehensive understanding of the causes and modulators of EC is missing. 

The overall objective of this project is to improve patient management and outcomes by identifying mechanisms underlying EC and its clinical variability, which can be useful in patient counseling, as disease biomarkers and for disease treatment. These aims are achieved by integrating deep phenotyping data of EC patients with data of various -omics approaches, cellular and animal models in an international collaborative context.