FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AUGUST 1, 2005
Contact: Becky Ceraul rceraul@som.umaryland.edu 410-706-7590
Ellen Beth Levitt eblevitt@umm.edu 410-328-8919

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SCHOOL OF MEDICINE ESTABLISHES CENTER FOR VASCULAR AND INFLAMMATORY DISEASES

New Organized Research Center Will Advance Research, Clinical Care and Education in the Area of Cardiovascular Illnesses

In an effort to better understand and ultimately treat the leading causes of death in the United States, the University of Maryland School of Medicine has established the region’s first Center for Vascular and Inflammatory Diseases on its campus in Baltimore. The primary goal of the program, one of six Organized Research Centers at the School of Medicine, is to advance current knowledge in the field of cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases such as heart attack, stroke and rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune diseases. It will include an extensive program in research, advanced clinical services for patients and an education program for medical students, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

“Cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke remain major public health problems in the United States,” says Donald E. Wilson, M.D., M.A.C.P., Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland and Dean, School of Medicine. “The Center for Vascular and Inflammatory Diseases will act as a catalyst for enhanced interaction among basic researchers and physician scientists on our campus who are involved in fields related to cardiovascular biology. The center will also facilitate the translation of laboratory research into clinical applications for more effective patient care.”

The new center will be led by Dudley K. Strickland, Ph.D., professor of surgery and physiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and three associate directors, Toni Antalis, Ph.D., professor of physiology and surgery; David Scott, Ph.D., professor of surgery and microbiology and immunology, and Bartley Griffith, M.D., professor of surgery. “We want to better understand the molecular biology of cells and cellular behavior and integrate this understanding into better treatments for vascular and cardiac diseases,” says Dr. Strickland. “The center will also serve as a resource for cutting-edge technologies in biomedical research and provide outstanding research training and educational opportunities for our students and postdoctoral fellows.”

The center will be organized into three scientific core programs – vascular biology and stroke, vascular physiology and hypertension, and immunity and inflammation – with basic research, graduate studies, and clinical and translational research activities taking place in each area. A group of 13 senior faculty members and eight junior faculty members representing a variety of disciplines at the University of Maryland School of Medicine will form the nucleus of the new center, which is located in the new BioPark on the campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine’s other Organized Research Centers are: the Center for Health Policy and Health Services Research, the Center for Integrative Medicine, the Mucosal Biology Research Center, the Center for Vaccine Development and the Center for Research on Aging.

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