Advancing Cardiovascular Care through Basic Research

The Center for Cardiovascular Research (CCR) at Washington University School of Medicine supports basic research laboratories that focus on understanding the biologic processes that are responsible for cardiovascular disease. A major objective of the CCR is to establish novel interfaces among cardiovascular researchers in diverse scientific disciplines, including molecular and cellular biology, physiology, biophysics, and bioorganic chemistry. Accordingly, the CCR provides a unique research environment for scientists with distinct backgrounds who have common interests in diseases of the heart and vasculature. In addition, the CCR facilitates interactions between its basic scientists and clinical researchers engaged in patient-oriented research. The CCR also supports a cutting-edge mouse phenotyping core. Current research efforts within the CCR include: cellular ketone body metabolism, the role of autophagy in atherosclerosis, cellular and molecular basis of heart failure, cellular responses to myocardial injury, mechanisms of cell death, and genomic predictors of cardiovascular disease complications. Research faculty, fellows, and students meet twice weekly through highly interactive CCR trainee and faculty (internal and Visiting Professor) seminars.