Established in 1958 as UCSF’s first Organized Research Unit, the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) has consistently valued and promoted interdisciplinary research. It brings together scientists, physicians, and physician-scientists from diverse scientific backgrounds to bridge the gap between laboratory research and clinical application. The CVRI is renowned for its cutting-edge, curiosity-driven research across a broad spectrum of disciplines related to cardiovascular biology, including molecular and cell biology, genetics, structural biology, biophysics, as well as translational and clinical science.
In its early years, from 1958 to 1973, the CVRI, under the direction of its founding Director Dr. Julius Comroe, focused primarily on physician-scientists studying fundamental biology and diseases of the cardiopulmonary system. This focus expanded under Comroe and continued under Dr. Richard Havel, who directed the institute for 29 years. The research emphasis broadened to include understanding the cardiovascular system and diseases affecting it, such as blood pressure regulation, atherosclerosis, neurohormonal control of heart function, and diseases of the lung and respiratory system. Despite this focus, CVRI maintained its commitment to fundamental discovery and basic biology.
From 1997 to 2017, under the leadership of Dr. Shaun Coughlin, the CVRI underwent dramatic expansion, marked by the opening of the Smith Cardiovascular Research Building at Mission Bay in 2010. Under Coughlin’s directorship, the institute’s focus on curiosity-driven fundamental biology and basic science became a core strength. In more recent years, under Dr. Brian Black’s directorship, the CVRI has continued to expand, emphasizing fundamental discoveries in cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary biology and fostering collaborative and interdisciplinary science among its members.
The CVRI’s multidisciplinary approach has led to major advances in cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary science and medicine. Notable examples include research in the 1960s and 1970s on air-water interfaces and the biophysics of alveolar inflation, which directly contributed to treatments for respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants. These groundbreaking discoveries resulted in a 50% reduction in mortality from this disease in the U.S. and worldwide— the most significant impact on infant mortality since the advent of antibiotics.
In the 1980s, CVRI researchers developed eptifibatide, an anti-clotting agent used to prevent clotting during angioplasty, now employed in approximately 1 million patients annually. Further advancements in the 1990s and early 2000s led to the discovery of the Thrombin receptor, PAR-1, and the development of Vorapaxar, a PAR-1 antagonist useful in preventing cardiovascular death in individuals with a history of myocardial infarction.
Current research by CVRI faculty encompasses a wide range of fundamental biology related to cardiovascular science. This includes building an atomic-level view of ion channel and receptor function, unraveling the genetics of heart regeneration, deciphering mechanisms of myocardial and lung fibrosis, defining mechanisms of cardiotoxicity and heart failure, and understanding and combating obesity. The institute also engages in extensive curiosity-driven research across a variety of topics in basic molecular and cellular biology.