Prevention / Atherosclerosis / Lipids Program

Director: Dr. Daniel J. Rader

The Prevention, Atherosclerosis, Lipids research program unit in the CVI is focused on the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and acute coronary syndromes and the risk factors involved in their development. Its major focus is to bring together investigators and clinicians within CVI who are interested in this area in order to facilitate basic, translational, and clinical research.

The Unit facilitates a multidisciplinary approach to the development of novel biological discoveries related to lipid metabolism, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular metabolism. The Unit establishes a supportive collaborative environment for translating these novel biological discoveries into controlled human clinical studies and ultimately large-scale clinical trials. The Unit is composed of both established investigators as well as individuals whose goal is to further develop or expand their research into one of these areas. The Unit has close ties with all relevant core facilities, including bioinformatics, biostatistics, genomic technology, and the clinical research center with its associated laboratories. Regular meetings take place with the specific goals of developing innovative and collaborative grant applications that take advantage of the strengths that this type of campus-wide collaboration will provide.

The Lipid/Atherosclerosis/CAD/ACS/Prevention program unit provides a concrete bridge between the CVI and the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism (IDOM), and constitutes essentially the same group of investigators as those participating in the Cardiovascular Metabolism Unit of the IDOM. In addition, this Unit provides an interface with the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics.