Our Mission
The mission of the Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center is to support interdisciplinary research in basic, translational and clinical cardiovascular sciences, including cardiovascular development, function, pathophysiology, pharmacology, genetics, genomics, and proteomics, and to apply this knowledge to better understand the causes of cardiovascular diseases and to pioneer development of new innovative therapies and approaches to prevent or treat them.
Goals and Objectives
- To support basic, translational, and clinical research that can be translated into therapies and improve patient care
- To provide resources that enhance research in cardiovascular related diseases
- To disseminate knowledge by lectures, seminars and other educational opportunities
- To support training of pre- and postgraduate students, residents and fellows in the cardiovascular sciences and cardiovascular medicine
- To help integrate cardiovascular research across labs, departments, and schools at UVA as well as with outside institutions including facilitating collaborative studies
- To assist CVRC investigators in developing a plan for translating research findings into products or procedures that benefit patients including providing advice on protecting intellectual property, establishing biotech startup companies, and licensing technology to companies
Mete Civelek and Team Make Discovery About Coronary Artery Disease
Civelek and his team wanted to unravel a longstanding mystery about the behavior of smooth muscle cells during plaque formation. These cells, which line our blood vessels, are integral in protecting the body during plaque formation – they build stabilizing … Read More
Brant Isakson, PhD, Receives Prestigious 2024 Robert M. Berne Distinguished Lectureship of the American Physiological Society
Brant Isakson, PhD, a professor of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics and member of the Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center, has received the 2024 Robert M. Berne Distinguished Lectureship of the American Physiological Society Dr. Isakson’s laboratory made the … Read More
Isakson’s Lab Key to Comradery? Spending time sharing food with one another
The academic lab is a screwball cross-section of personalities. There is everyone from the omnipotent lab manager and the timorous undergraduate to the idealistic graduate student and the grizzled post-doc or any other combination thereof. With each personality comes a … Read More
Gary Owens of the Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC) Awarded 3.2 Million R01 Grant
Role of IL-6 trans signaling in atherosclerosis development and late-stage pathogenesis Thromboembolic events secondary to rupture or erosion of advanced atherosclerotic lesions are the underlying cause of most heart attacks or stroke and are the leading cause of death in … Read More
Brant Isakson of the Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC) Awarded 3.5 Million R01 studying role of endothelium in sepsis
Sepsis accounts for more hospital deaths per year than any other condition in the United States, and the disease is currently devoid of any targeted pharmacological intervention. Critical to understanding how inflammation affects vascular barrier function is that endothelial cells … Read More
Dr. Eyleen O’Rourke and her team identify a promising approach to delay aging by detoxifying the body of glycerol and glyceraldehyde
University of Virginia scientists have identified a promising approach to delay aging by detoxifying the body of glycerol and glyceraldehyde, harmful by-products of fat that naturally accumulate over time. The new findings come from UVA researcher Eyleen Jorgelina O’Rourke, PhD, … Read More
Jiliang Zhou, M.D., PhD
The Dark That Matters: Essential Role of the Long Non-coding RNA CARMN in Regulating Smooth Muscle Phenotype Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
Find out more »Edward Moreira Bahnson, PhD
Redox Modulation and Targeted Drug Delivery for Cardiovascular Disease and Beyond Redox dysfunction is causally associated with a wide array of human pathologies. Particularly, redox dysfunction promotes the development of cardiovascular disease. However, clinical translation of antioxidant-therapy has yielded underwhelming … Read More
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