WP1 covers the overall management and coordination of the Aneurysm-NL project. This includes decision-making, administrative and financial oversight in line with DHF regulations, as well as scientific coordination across work packages. WP1 also focuses on strengthening the consortium through community building, supporting young talent, and establishing long-term collaboration with national registries to futureproof the Aneurysm-NL data commons. Its core objectives are to ensure efficient project execution, maintain clear communication, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, develop a diverse and supportive community, promote talent development, and secure sustainable data-sharing infrastructures beyond the project’s duration.

WP2 aims to build an innovative national data infrastructure that integrates diverse datasets from biobanks, clinical cohorts, imaging studies, genetic resources, and patient registries. Using a federated architecture, data will remain within the contributing organizations, ensuring that sensitive patient information is protected while enabling secure and efficient access for researchers. This infrastructure will remove longstanding logistical, legal, and technical barriers, opening new avenues for comprehensive aneurysm research.

WP3 focuses on identifying and testing therapeutic strategies for genetic and degenerative aneurysms by leveraging the extensive biobank developed in WP2. Using both patient-derived primary vascular smooth muscle cells (pVSMCs) and induced pluripotent stem cell–derived VSMCs (iVSMCs), this work package aims to evaluate existing FDA-approved drugs and discover novel therapeutic targets related to inflammation, metabolism, oxidative stress, apoptosis, senescence, and matrix remodeling. The goal is to develop personalized, less invasive treatment options that may delay or prevent high-risk surgical interventions.

WP4 studies the natural history and progression of acute aortic dissection, aiming to identify which patients are at risk for downstream or upstream aneurysm development and to determine optimal surgical and medical management strategies. By combining clinical, imaging, and biological data with insights from WP2 and WP3, WP4 develops mechanistic and machine-learning models to predict disease progression and support clinical decision-making. The work package focuses on creating retrospective and prospective datasets across all Dutch heart centers, enabling federated analyses and nationwide collaboration. Ultimately, WP4 will expand this infrastructure to include all aortic aneurysm types, creating a comprehensive clinical and computational framework that improves patient care and strengthens interdisciplinary research.

WP5 establishes the first national prospective registry to compare advanced endovascular techniques with microsurgical repair for unruptured intracranial aneurysms. With 400 patients included across all Dutch treatment centers, the registry will evaluate short- and mid-term clinical and radiological outcomes, safety, and effectiveness of current treatment strategies. The work package evaluates safety, functional outcomes, and occlusion rates of different treatment strategies, examines the performance of new devices, and explores potential sex differences. All data will be collected in a standardized, FAIR-compliant format and later integrated into the Aneurysm-NL data commons (WP2). The project will also conduct comparative effectiveness analyses and model-based economic evaluations to inform future clinical decision-making and guideline development.