UPMC and University of Pittsburgh Researchers Awarded $14.3 Million for Cardiovascular, Dementia Research

Stephen Chan, MD, director, Vascular Medicine Institute; director, Center for Pulmonary Vascular Biology and medicine, will be the principal investigator of an interdisciplinary team of researchers from UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh who are studying the causes of inflammation that leads to cardiovascular disease and dementia. The research is made possible thanks to a $14.3 million gift from the WoodNext Foundation, which has previously funded research at the University of Pittsburgh centered on genetics and treatments for sleep dysfunction.

In an article published by the Pittsburgh Business Times, Anantha Shekhar, MD, PhD, commented that this contribution from the WoodNext Foundation is “transformational” and will advance biomedical, cardiovascular, and neuroscience research. Dr. Chan will be collaborating with teams led by Anne Newman, MD, MPH, clinical director, Aging Institute; and Toren Finkel, MD, PhD, director, Aging Institute. Ultimately, findings from this multidisciplinary research will be used to advance drug therapies that could treat or reverse these disease processes, according to Dr. Chan.

For more information about clinical trials that UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute experts participate in or to refer a patient, please email HVIReferral@upmc.edu.