Initiative for
Heart Health
The Discoveries Campaign at Weill Cornell is committing extraordinary resources towards identifying the causes of cardiovascular diseases and develop new approaches to prevention and treatment. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the United States. An estimated 80 million Americans have one or more forms of cardiovascular disease including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure.
The Weill Cornell Belfer Research Building will be the locus for world-class "translational"—laboratory bench-to-bedside—research programs for cardiovascular disease. Scientists across disciplines will work with physicians to tackle major questions such as genetic predispositions to cardiac arrest, the influence of cholesterol in heart disease and the causes of imbalance in blood vessel formation. With this interdisciplinary approach, discoveries made in the laboratory will be more quickly translated into new patient treatments.
“Developing new treatments for cardiovascular disease is arguably the most pressing health need facing Americans in the 21st century. Through interdisciplinary research, scientists at Weill Cornell will develop treatments that lower the mortality rate and create therapies that prevent disease.”
— Antonio M. Gotto Jr, M.D., D.Phil., Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell (1997-2011), and an internationally recognized authority in cardiovascular disease
Monica Prieto, a third-year medical student in Mwanza, Tanzania at Weill Bugando Medical Center.
To learn more about heart initiatives and research, contact Lucille Ferraro, Campaign Director, at 646–317–7387, or development@med.cornell.edu.
