Research Breakthroughs

Research breakthroughs at the University of Wisconsin Cardiovascular Research Center:

• Breaking the Code
  Although nearly half of all heart failure has no clearly identifiable cause, for an increasing number of patients, the disease appears to have a genetic basis. A team of researchers is working to unlock the genetic code and improve the lives of millions of Americans.
   
• Regenerating Heart Muscle
  Recent advances at the University of Wisconsin and around the world have opened the possibility that diseased or damaged heart muscle can be repaired or replaced. Research using human stem cells to generate human heart muscle cells in a dish, studies engineering heart tissue for transplantation, investigations optimizing the techniques for cell and tissue delivery to the heart, and pioneering clinical trials are all actively being pursued by CVRC investigators. These investigations hold promise to truly revolutionize the treatment for a broad variety of heart diseases in man.
   
• Going With the Flow
  Investigators at the University of Wisconsin are using animal and heart cell models to better understand the causes of myocardial ischemia and the cellular and molecular changes it induces in heart muscle cells.
   
• Preparing the Next Generation
  Research faculty teach medical students and train graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and clinical fellows--the future scientists and physicians destined to lead in treating and ultimately reducing the incidence of cardiovascular diseases.
   
• Working Together
  Across the campus physical scientists are developing more sensitive and reliable ways to measure heart and vascular function while molecular biologists and geneticists are studying genetic causes of disease. Their research successes are swiftly translated into improved patient care and disease prevention by physicians working in UW clinics and hospital rooms.
   
• Translational Research
  Discoveries made in Cardiovascular Research Center laboratories and clinics translate into new techniques and treatments--breakthroughs that are quickly put to use in preventing and fighting heart disease.