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While lifestyle factors such as tobacco use, diet, and level of physical activity can lead to cardiovascular disease, risk genes still influence a person's susceptibility to disease, the age of onset, and disease severity. The CVDi conducts cellular, animal, and population studies aimed at uncovering the genetic underpinnings of a range of cardiovascular diseases, including forms of:

• arrhythmias (e.g., atrial fibrillation)
• cardiac fibrosis
• cardiomyopathies (e.g., dilated cardiomyopathy, or DCM; hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM)
• congenital structural abnormalities
• heart failure (e.g., heart failure with preserved ejection, or HFpEF)
• valvular diseases (e.g., aortic stenosis, mitral valve prolapse)
• vascular disorders (e.g., aortic aneurysm, atherosclerosis, spontaneous coronary artery dissection)

We also carry out epigenetic and other biological studies on genetic variants to find the causative genes associated with disease. These discoveries give us new insights into the genetics of cardiovascular disease, and also identify novel genes and pathways that can be further studied as potential therapeutic targets. 

Bayer-Ó³»­´«Ã½ Collaboration in Cardiovascular Disease

In 2015, Ó³»­´«Ã½ and Bayer established a long-term partnership in cardiovascular genomics. This effort — which uses genomic information to characterize disease risk and identify new therapeutic targets for drug discovery — combines Bayer’s expertise in cardiovascular therapeutics with Ó³»­´«Ã½â€™s deep knowledge of genomics and biology. The goal is to leverage insights from human genetics to help create new cardiovascular therapies.