The CVC holds cooperations with Vienna-based institutions such as CeMM, IMBA, IMP, IS and with the Ludwig Boltzmann Society. In addition, contacts with internationally recognized foreign reference centers are constantly being extended. Clinical trials are conducted in collaboration with Medical University of Vienna’s Coordination Center for Clinical Trials as well as external institutions such as the TIMI group (Harvard Medical School), NIH and DCRI (Duke Clinical Research Institute).Within the cluster there are seven interdisciplinary priorities:
Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology
- Endothelial cell biology and angiogenesis
- Inflammation and immunity
- Lipoproteins and oxidative stress
- Serine proteases and serpins
- Pulmonary vascular disease biology
- Thrombosis, platelets and microparticles
- Venous Thromboembolism
- New Anticoagulants
- Case Control Cohort and Interventional Studies
Heart Failure and Cardiovascular Regeneration
- Novel biomarkers
- Cellular machanisms of remodelling
- Regeneration of cardiovascular tissues and angiogenensis, stem cells and progenitor cells
- Genomics
- Clinical trials and development of pharmacological therapy
- Device therapy, new surgical and interventional approaches
- Genetic factors
- Experimental animal models of shunt-induced pulmonary hypertension
- Vascular biology of degenerative aortic valve stenosis
- Natural history and outcome
- Phase I and II trials of new treatment modalities
- New surgical and interventional approaches
- Biomechanics of valvular heart disease
Electrophysiology and Device Therapy
- Structure-function of studies of myocardial ion channels
- Atrial fibrillation: dependence on atrial structure and function
- Genomics of arrhythmias
- Interventional and device therapies
Cardiovascular and Cardiac Imaging
- Small and large animal models
- Invasive and noninvasive coronary and peripheral vascular imaging
- Endovascular imaging
- Myocardial mechanics
- Imaging of myocardial fibrosis
- Molecular imaging (inflammation, adhesion molecules, atherosclerosis detection, vascular apoptosis, neovascularization, reporter gene imaging)
- Imaging to guide surgical and interventional approaches
Coronary and Peripheral Artery Disease
- Endothelial progenitor cells
- Microcirculation
- Diabetic angiopathy
- Wall shear stress and vascular strain
- Critical limb ischemia
- Development of new endovascular and surgical strategies
- Restenosis
- Case control, cohort and interventional studies
Pediatric Cardiovascular Medicine
Prevention
- Hypertension
- Lipid biomarkers
- Inflammation and endothelial dysfunction in obesity
- Angiogenesis in adipose tissue
- Immunotherapy of atherosclerosis
- Genetic risk factors
- Smoking-related impact
- Gender-specific influences