Cardiovascular Disease

Research related to heart failure and sudden death is conducted here, as is work focused on a range of leading-edge therapies and technologies, including:

• Cardiovascular tissue engineering
• Adult stem cells for tissue engineering 
• Wound healing
• Biomaterials and gene delivery for tissue regeneration 
• Gene modified skin for protein delivery 
• Functional genomics in tissue engineering

Faculty and members of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine are actively involved in advanced investigation funded through National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and medical foundations and industry. They have led major multicenter clinical trials, as well as single-center patient-oriented investigation.

Preclinical research areas of focus include:

• Investigation in chronic adaptations of the heart to ischemia, heart failure, angiogenesis and sudden cardiac death using molecular imaging and high-throughput molecular biology
• Development of novel approaches to improved heart function with the aid of therapeutic interventions, like in vivo gene transfer and cell based therapy, that can ultimately be used in a clinical setting

The division’s facilities include state-of-the-art laboratories for preclinical investigation, and are located in UB’s Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC), which sits above Kaleida Health’s Gates Vascular Institute (GVI). This proximity will allow for the delivery of collaborative clinical care, including patient evaluation and follow-up for clinical trials, and advanced clinical cardiovascular imaging.