The mission of the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) is to enhance collaborative research that is broadly related to cardiovascular disease and neuroscience.  Our major goals are to promote scientific exchange among clinicians and basic scientists and to provide resources to support new CV research in the Health Science Campus (HSC). The Cardiovascular Research Institute includes over 50 faculty from basic science and clinical departments. We invite all Loyola scientists and clinicians with relevant interests to participate in the CVRI’s activities to enhance discovery and improve patient outcomes.

 

The CVRI is a publicly and privately funded entity. 

Our activities are supported by the National Institutes for Health, the American Heart Association, the National Science Foundation, and the kind support of our generous private donors. For more information, please contact the Department of Advancement.

You can contribute directly in support of the CVRI on the Stritch School of Medicine's dedicated giving page. 

 

The CVRI consists of six research divisions:

Cardiac Physiology and Biophysics Division

Understanding the physiology and mechanics of cardiac function is crucial to improving the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Our research ranges from understanding basic events of cardiac and skeletal muscle function to uncovering the detailed mechanisms of heart remodeling during chronic disease states. Our primary areas of study, in order of priority, are:

  • Myofilament regulation during disease
  • Defining the mechanisms that control calcium homeostasis and excitation-contraction coupling in the heart.
  • The interaction of membrane proteins such as SERCA with their regulatory partners
  • The role of the calcineurin-NFATc signaling pathway and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor-mediated calcium release in cardiac remodeling during hypertrophy and heart failure
  • The protective role of heat shock protein

For more information, click here.

Vascular Biology and Hemostasis Division

For over 40 years, Loyola faculty in this division have participated in translational research to understand the disease process and develop innovative diagnostic methods, devices, and drugs. We seek to promote collaborative research opportunities to extend our research programs at national and international levels. Our multi-discipline team focuses on the pathophysiological mechanisms of vascular disorders and their management via several lines of research:​

  • Venous thromboembolism
  • Acute coronary syndrome
  • Atrial fibrillation
  • Thrombotic and ischemic stroke
  • Vascular manifestations of venous disorders and sepsis associated vascular disorders
  • Cancer associated thrombosis and bleeding
  • Auto immune disease related vascular pathogenesis
For more information, click here.
 

Clinical and Translational Research Division

The Clinical and Translational Research Division aims to reinforce collaboration among clinical, translational and basic CVRI divisions. Ultimately, we seek to help transition new understandings of disease mechanisms gained in basic laboratory into the development of new methods for diagnosis, therapy and prevention of cardiovascular disease.
 
For more information, click here.
 

Public Health Division

The Public Health Division performs research aimed at preventing disease, promoting health, and prolonging life among the population as a whole. We have a wide range of faculty expertise in areas that include epidemiology, biostatistics, nutrition, obesity, genetics, and environmental exposures. 
 
For more information, click here.
 

Neuroscience Division

Our research seeks to enhance the fundamental understanding of how the nervous system functions in health and disease, and to support basic, translational, and clinical research and training, with the goal of developing novel and effective therapeutic strategies to enhance patient care. The research interests of our division faculty include:
  • Neuroendocrinology
  • Alcohol and drug abuse
  • Cardiovascular function and serotonin
  • Neural control of metabolic homeostasis
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Stroke and neural plasticity
  • Parkinson Disease and neurodegeneration
  • Neuroimmunology
  • Neuronal excitability

For more information, click here.

 

Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery Division

The Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular research is prolific in health services and translational research. Our focus is to better understand the quality of thoracic surgical care at the national level by studying processes of care, structure and surgical outcomes utilizing big data, clinical registries and administrative databases and help inform large scale policy. We also bridge health services with innovative translational research that can identify mechanistic and pathophysiological attributes in thrombosis and inflammation and how they related to improving several processes of surgical care that can result in real-world solutions to manned surgical problems.
 
For more information, click here.