At LIMR, we engage in basic, preclinical and clinical cardiovascular research, and we work closely with our colleagues at the Lankenau Heart Institute, one of the top-performing cardiovascular medicine and surgery centers in the country.
In our basic research component, we study underlying causes of life-threatening arrhythmias, including pathogenic genetic defects. We also investigate how ion channels regulate blood pressure and the electrical signals that drive heartbeat. And we engage in bioengineering studies aimed at growing new hearts from a patient's own skin cells or blood cells. Our hope is that these cells will not be rejected, thus sparing the transplant patient a lifetime of anti-rejection medications.
We also focus on developing new drugs and devices to correct heart beat disorders, treat and prevent heart attacks and strokes, and avert heart failure. Work is also dedicated to monitoring and analyzing our clinical progress in improving patient outcomes.
Additionally, our investigators conduct cardiovascular clinical research. LIMR's Center for Clinical Cardiology is directed by internationally renowned cardiac electrophysiology specialist and researcher Peter Kowey, MD, the William Wikoff Smith Chair in Cardiovascular Research. Dr. Kowey is a recognized leader in innovative clinical cardiology and cardiac surgery research.
World-class scientist and heart rhythm expert Charles Antzelevitch, PhD, executive director of cardiovascular research, spearheads efforts to develop new treatments for abnormal and potentially deadly heart rhythms.
Renowned Lankenau Medical Center cardiologist William A. Gray, MD, and cardiothoracic surgeon Basel Ramlawi, MD, are both affiliated clinical faculty members of LIMR, working closely with LIMR investigators to advance cardiac research. Indeed, the synergy between LIMR's laboratory programs and Main Line Health's clinical research activities serves as a translational conduit enabling the rapid movement of lab findings into clinical investigations.
Coordinators in LIMR's Center for Clinical Cardiology support investigators working on cardiovascular drug and medical device development and clinical care methodologies. In recent years, the Lankenau Heart Institute (LHI), working in conjunction with the Center, has been designated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) as one of only a few sites in the nation to conduct Early Feasibility Studies. This allows LHI and LIMR to conduct important first-in-human clinical research with FDA oversight.