The Division of Cardiovascular Medicine is the largest division within the Department of Medicine, consisting of more than 40 full time and emeritus faculty divided between the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System. The faculty serves as the backbone for the Division’s investigative efforts into the basis, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. There are many fruitful collaborative efforts between the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and other divisions and departments with the Stanford University School of Medicine, such as the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and the Stanford Prevention Research Center. Collaborations with other institutions are common; recent collaborations have included work with the Kaiser Permanente Research Division of Northern California and the MADIT II cohort.
Basic science and translational research is conducted primarily at the Falk Cardiovascular Research building as well as the Lucas MRI building. Current strengths of the program include investigation of the genetic epidemiology of cardiovascular disease under the ADVANCE grant spearheaded by the Chief of the Division, Thomas Quertermous MD, developmental biology under Ching-Pin Chang, MD and vascular biology under John Cooke MD.
The Division’s clinical research has a storied history as, among other accomplishments, the Division houses the longest running cardiac transplantation program in the United States and played a primary role in the pivotal trials proving the benefit of beta-blockade in heart failure. Current strengths in clinical research include cardiac transplantation, the role of insulin resistance in cardiovascular disease in collaboration with Emeritus Professor Gerald Reaven,MD, and epidemiologic studies based at both Stanford University Hospital and Clinics and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.Clinical research takes place in both hospital systems and in the General Clinical Research Center, housed within Stanford Hospital.
The Cardiovascular Institute (CVI) provides a home for cardiovascular research across the Stanford campus. The goal of the CVI is to translate scientific knowledge in the basic biology of cardiovascular disease into powerful new methods of diagnosis and treatment to prevent or reverse heart and vascular damage, thereby transforming the clinical experience of cardiovascular patients at Stanford. Diverse and dynamic membership fuels the innovative interdisciplinary research activity of the CVI, which carries out its mission by providing organizational structure to concentrate and coordinate the activities of scientists, engineers, educators, and physicians committed to improving the cardiovascular health of patients, while educating and training the next generation of leaders in the field of cardiovascular medicine.