Research Activity

Scientific inquiry and posing fundamental questions are the tenets of medical advances.

Bench (basic), clinical, translational and population based are intergral parts of our mission to improve patient care. They also provide a strong yet dynamic foundation for educating the next generation of scientist, visionaries, entrepreneurs and academic leaders.

The division, in collaboration with the cardiovascular center of excellence, was the recipient between 1995-2013 of a National Institutes of Health-sponsored Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) grant in heart failure. In 2014, we were awarded an NIH Center for Accelerated Innovations (NCAI) in partnership with the Cleveland Clinic, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Research Foundation, Case Western Reserve University, and the Ohio State University. Only three of these were awarded in the country. In addition to our consortium, one was awarded to the University of California system, and one to a Boston consortium led by Harvard.

The major basic science research programs include oxidative stress and inflammation in cardiovascular disease, G protein and protein kinase signaling, myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury and cardioprotection, myocardial apoptosis in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure, gene regulation, RNA processing, the development and action of RNA-based therapeutics (siRNA, aptamers, and miRNA), new paradigms of thrombosis, including cell-free nucleic acids and the use of ultrasound in diagnosis and in therapeutic delivery.

A multimillion dollar institutional initiative for identifying and characterizing human polymorphic genetic determinants of heart failure began in 2000 that involves investigators from the UC Department of Internal Medicine as well as other departments in the College of Medicine.

The Division of Cardiovascular Health and Disease has pioneered the advance of new therapeutics and diagnostics through its pre-clinical research programs. We believe strongly that translating what we learn at the laboratory bench to the patient's bedside, and ultimately to the community by employing population-based research, is both a distinguishing feature and signature of our research enterprise. Through invention and innovation, we have successfully established startup companies dedicated to bringing devices and therapies to the clinic, and have licensed discoveries to industry partners to do the same.

In addition to its basic, translational and population research programs, the Division of Cardiovascular Disease conducts site-based research and participates in national and international clinical trials. Some of these studies represent the outgrowth of our own discoveries, while others represent collaborations among the worlds most prestigious medical schools and academic health centers, in the areas ranging from cardioprotection,adult autologous stem cell implantation (for cardiac repair), coronary artery disease, inherited and acquired blood clotting disorders, electrophysiology, heart failure, interventional cardiology, echocardiography, and cardiac computerized tomography. Clinical trials in the area of advanced imaging include radiotracer imaging of cardiac sympathetic innervation, Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging of fatty acid tracers and validation of coronary CT angiography.

In summary, we are fully committed leaders in basic cardiovascular science, pre-clinical translation, clinical research and translation that leads to the betterment of care for our patients today and for those of many generations to come.

Additional Information:

• Current Clinical Trials