The Cardiovascular Research Center, founded in 1992 at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), is at the forefront of scientific discovery in cardiovascular health and disease. The Cardiovascular Research Center?s mission is to lead discovery research and accelerate the translation of scientific breakthroughs for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. By building scientific bridges to clinical practice and training the next generation of cardiovascular researchers, we seek to revolutionize cardiovascular care and enhance public health across Wisconsin. The American Heart Association has funded more than $17M in research grants to physicians and scientists at the Cardiovascular Research Center over the last 10 years.

More than 180 members of the Cardiovascular Research Center enjoy access to core equipment, specialized services, informative newsletters, pilot funding opportunities, and numerous seminars, events and courses for ongoing research education and trans-departmental networking to promote collaborative biomedical research, which are described in detail in following sections. Emphasis is placed on collaborative, multidisciplinary research centered around our members? expertise in thematic areas of research called Signature Programs, which are 1) Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis & Vascular Biology, 2) Cardiac Biology & Heart Failure, 3) Cardio-Oncology, and 4) Hypertension.         

The Cardiovascular Research Center is directed by Mike Widlansky, MD, MPH, Northwestern Mutual Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and Toxicology, who has over 20 years of experience and expertise leading cardiovascular clinical, training, and research programs. The Cardiovascular Research Center is supported by its four associate directors, Matthew Durand, PhD (Clinical & Translational Science), Iftikhar Kullo, MD (Population Science), Mary Sorci?Thomas, PhD (Education & Training), and Ze Zheng, MBBS, PhD (Basic Science); three assistant directors, Allison DeVan, PhD (Education & Training), Andrew Spearman, MD (Basic Science), and William Hughes, PhD (Clinical & Translational Science); and dedicated staff.