Office of Corporate Alliances, University of Rochester Medical Center

Connecting corporate and academic researchers to advance science and human health

  

 

Research strengths

Cardiovascular Research

Mission: The Cardiovascular research team at the University of Rochester Medical Center takes a leading role in the nation's efforts to prevent, diagnose, and treat heart disease, the number one killer in the United States. We seek to define the cellular mechanisms that lead to cardiovascular disease while also creating and applying medical advances for conditions of the heart muscle (heart failure), electrical circuitry (arrhythmia), and blood and blood vessels (atherosclerosis, stroke).

Summary: URMC cardiovascular researchers are teasing out the exact chemical and genetic mechanisms that enable heart cells to signal each other, move from place to place or decide to self-destruct. Each basic science breakthrough engenders new approaches to the prevention of hardened arteries, heart attack and sudden cardiac death. A main thrust of URMC cardiovascular research is exploring how inflammation, caused by the body's immune system reaction to injury, contributes to disease in blood vessels. A second focus is the mechanical and chemical processes that enable heart muscle cells to contract. A third line of research is unraveling the electrical signaling system that maintains the heart's rhythmic beat.

Leadership:

Bradford Berk, MD, PhD
Chairman and Charles E. Dewey Professor of Medicine
Director, Cardiovascular Research Institute
Director, Cardiovascular Research Training Grant

Mark Taubman, MD
Paul N. Yu Professor of Medicine
Chief, Cardiology Unit
Director, Cardiovascular Research Institute

NIH/NHLBI Funding: $12 million annually

Examples of Currently Funded Cardiovascular Research Projects

Facilities: URMC has recently acquired a former Wyeth-Lederle facility and dedicated it to cardiovascular research. The Cardiovascular Research Institute with 84,000 square feet of research space and capacity for 120 URMC research scientists has the potential to become the largest institute in the nation dedicated to cardiovascular research.

Resource Highlights: In the new facility, CVRI researchers will use high-speed microarray technology to study genes expressed in healthy cells versus diseased cells and a powerful two-photon microscope to explore the inner workings of living cells.

Faculty and Scientific Interests