History

In 1995 Dr. John Solaro, with the support of Dean Gerald Moss, establish a Program in Cardiovascular Sciences at UIC. The program was granted Center status as the CCVR in 2005 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.  In 2010, the CCVR was granted permanent status by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.  Since its inception, the Center has expanded to include a formalized core in partnership with the Research Resource Core to include a cardiovascular physiology and vector laboratory, preparations, tissue analysis, animal models of disease, and through the UIC Research Resources Core, and has shown tremendous growth in new areas of research involving multiple departments, including Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Physiology, Pharmacology, Bioengineering and Kinesiology.

The original program founded by Dr. Solaro was significantly important in recruiting a new Chief of Cardiology, Dr. Peter Buttrick, who co-directed the program until his departure. The new Chief, Dr. Sam Dudley, also served as co-director with Dr. Solaro.  After 15 years of CCVR leadership, Dr. Solaro stepped aside in 2010, and CCVR leadership transitioned to Dr. Douglas Lewandowski. Upon Dr. Lewandowski’s departure in 2015, Dr. Solaro resumed his role as Director.  In 2019, Dr. Jan Kitajewski (Head Physiology) and Dr. Dawood Darbar (Cardiology Chief) assumed leadership as Co-Directors.  Key to the success of the center as a networking platform for our faculty at UIC is having our represented by both basic scientist and clinical perspectives.

This continually evolving Center fosters multidisciplinary approaches in basic cardiovascular sciences, that together directly address current problems in heart and vascular disease, and enables translational research that applies this basic knowledge into clinical research protocols and novel treatment strategies for patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases.

With help from the College of Medicine resources, faculty were jointly recruited with the Departments of Medicine, Physiology and Pharmacology.  The Program and its evolution into a Center were central to the continued funding of a Training Grant with 14 slots for a 25-year period.  The CCVR is also central to the success of a program project now funded into its 20th year. Moreover, activities and support of the CCVR continue to instigate new individual grants and provide an important aspect of new training grant applications.  The scientific focus of the CCVR is internationally recognized as a center of excellence in cardiovascular research.

enter status was granted to the CCVR in 2005 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois in order to appropriately define the research focus, lend stature to our interdisciplinary activities, and provide an identity for attracting extramural funding from philanthropy and from private and public agencies that support research. In 2010, the CCVR was granted permanent status by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois and the Illinois Board of Higher Education. In that time the Center has developed a formalized core for cardiovascular physiology preparations and analysis through the UIC Research Resources Core and has shown tremendous growth in new areas of research involving multiple departments, including Medicine, Physiology, Pharmacology, and Bioengineering.

Begun in 1995 as an interdisciplinary program in Cardiovascular Sciences, Dr. John Solaro was the initial leader of the group.  Early cardiology leadership included Drs. Peter Buttrick, Sam Dudley, and Solaro.

This continually evolving Center fosters multidisciplinary approaches in basic cardiovascular sciences, that together directly address current problems in heart disease, and enables translational research that applies this basic knowledge into clinical research protocols and novel treatment strategies for patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases. The scientific focus of the CCVR is internationally recognized as a center of excellence in cardiovascular research.

Dr. John Solaro, PhD
CCVR Founder 1995
Distinguished University Professor