Department of Internal Medicine - Research

Iowa Cardiovascular Center
Research Support

A Cardiovascular Center was established in 1975 by the Dean of the College of Medicine under the direction of François M. Abboud, M.D. The purpose is to coordinate the cardiovascular programs of the College into a more cohesive unit to permit us to 1) utilize our cardiovascular resources optimally, 2) intensify, expand and integrate basic and clinical research programs in areas related to cardiovascular research, and 3) evaluate the role of new measures for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Space totaling 18,000 square feet was constructed for the Center. The space consists of a fifth and sixth floor addition to the Medical Research Center Building which is the closest to the geographic center of the University Hospitals/Medical Laboratories/Eckstein Medical Research Building/Bowen Science Building complex. The fifth and sixth floors house investigator research laboratories, core research laboratories, administrative offices, seminar rooms, the cardiovascular library and a computer facility. In addition, Cardiovascular Center investigators have laboratories in the Eckstein Medical Research Building, the Bowen Science Building, the Medical Laboratories Building and the VA Medical Center where the research space total more than 30,000 sq. ft.

The uniquely attractive feature of the Cardiovascular Center programs at Iowa are:

The close working relationship and cooperation between members of the basic science departments and members of the clinical departments, particularly the Departments of Medicine, Neurology, Pediatrics and Surgery.

Another important element in the success of this Cardiovascular Center has been the recruitment and retention of a critical mass of basic scientists and clinical investigators who have full-time faculty appointments with tenure. This represents a major commitment of university and state resources to cardiovascular programs which have been a significant element in its stability and success.

The availability and institutional support of major core research facilities and informatics intrastructure.

The continuing evolution of research from physiology and epidemiology to molecular biology and genetics, and computational and physiologic genomics. This has been accomplished while retaining strong integrative research programs and a link to pathogenesis and treatment of disease.

There are several major interdisciplinary programs currently funded within the Cardiovascular Center and/or form the core of research and training programs utilized by postdoctoral trainees in cardiovascular diseases. 

These include the following:

In addition, there is our Cardiovascular Interdisciplinary Research Fellowship, Pulmonary Training Program, Training Program in Hemostasis and Thrombosis, and an Institutional Pediatric Cardiology Training Grant that provide postdoctoral fellowships to M.D. and Ph.D. fellows.
Click here for a listing and a description of these programs.