UofL Cardiology

The basic research activities of the Division are performed in the Institute of Molecular Cardiology (IMC), which is an integral part of the Division of Cardiology and of the Cardiology Training Program. The IMC consists of a team of basic and translational cardiovascular scientists who work together to advance our understanding of the molecular basis of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury and to develop novel therapeutic approaches, including gene therapy and stem cell-mediated cardiac repair. The IMC occupies over 25,000 square feet of state-of-the-art research space (located on the first floor of the Medical Research Buliding and the Baxter Biomedical Research I, and the fourth floor of the Baxter Biomedical Research II ), offering outstanding facilities and equipment for virtually any type of basic investigation. A total of 14 faculty and over 50 other members (postdoctoral Fellows, Research Associates, students, staff, etc.) work in the IMC. The strength of the IMC, however, is not solely in these numbers but, most importantly, in the extraordinary expertise and cohesiveness of its members. The 14 faculty who work in the IMC have diverse but complementary areas of expertise encompassing molecular biology, gene knockout/transgenesis, signaling, biochemistry, proteomics, pharmacology, pathology, physiology, electrophysiology, and translational research. These investigators work together in a multidisciplinary approach, as documented by numerous joint publications and grants. The IMC has been extremely productive, with over 150 publications since the arrival of Dr. Bolli at the University of Louisville in 1994. A list of publications is available at (http://www.louisville.edu/medschool/medicine/cardiology/Publication.html ). The IMC is currently supported by 16 active NIH grants, including two Program Project Grants. Members of the IMC have achieved leadership positions in the American Heart Association, the NIH, the International Society for Heart Research, the American Physiological Society, and other scientific bodies. IMC faculty are routinely invited speakers at national and international meetings and are asked to moderate sessions at these conferences.

Cardiology Fellows are encouraged to rotate through the IMC and devote one or two years of time to basic research under the mentorship of IMC faculty, which will enable the Fellows to benefit from the enormous wealth of expertise and facilities available at the IMC. The main areas of interest are the study of ischemic preconditioning, the development of gene therapy strategies, and the use of stem cells for cardiac regeneration.